Edu breaks silence on shock Arsenal resignation as he reveals REAL reason why he is leaving to join rivals

Some worked retired amended than others.

Here, SunSport ranks them from worst to best...

35. Nicolas Pepe (£72m)

34. Willian (Free)

33. David Luiz (£8m)

32. Runar Alex Runarsson (£2m)

31. Mat Ryan (Loan)

30. Fabio Vieira (£34m)

29. Neto (Loan)

28. Marquinhos (£3m)

27. Nuno Tavares (£8m)

26. Matt Turner (£5m)

25. Cedric Soares (Free)

24. Albert Sambi Lokonga (£17m)

23. Pablo Mari (£5m)

22. Dani Ceballos (Loan)

21. Raheem Sterling (Loan)

20. Jakub Kiwior (£17m)

19. Jorginho (£12m)

18. Riccardo Calafiori (£42m)

17. Kieran Tierney (£25m)

16. Takehiro Tomiyasu (£20m)

15. Mikel Merino (£28m)

14. Aaron Ramsdale (£24m)

13. Oleksandr Zinchenko (£30m)

12. Gabriel Jesus (£45m)

11. Kai Havertz (£65m)

10. Jurrien Timber (£38m)

9. Gabriel Martinelli (£6m)

8. David Raya (£27m)

7. Leandro Trossard (£20m)

6. Thomas Partey (£45m)

5. Ben White (£50m)

4. Gabriel Magalhaes (£27m)

3. Declan Rice (£105m)

2. William Saliba (£27m)

1. Martin Odegaard (£30m)

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Edu, our erstwhile subordinate and Invincible, re-joined america successful the relation of Technical Director successful July 2019. He progressed done the nine and was promoted to Sporting Director successful November 2022, wherever helium oversaw men’s, women’s and academy football.   

We convey Edu for the portion helium has played successful our renewed shot strategy and driving the nine guardant with the values of Arsenal successful his heart. 

Edu said: “This was an incredibly hard determination to make.

"Arsenal has fixed maine the accidental to enactment with truthful galore astonishing radical and the accidental to beryllium a portion of thing truthful peculiar successful the club’s history. It has been a peculiar travel and I convey Stan, Josh, Tim and Lord Harris for the enactment they’ve fixed me.  

“I’ve loved moving with truthful galore large colleagues crossed our men’s, women’s and academy teams, particularly Mikel, who has go a large friend. 

“Now it is clip to prosecute a antithetic challenge. Arsenal volition ever stay successful my heart. I privation the nine and its supporters lone bully things and each the precise best.”

Our Co-Chair, Josh Kroenke, added: “We respect Edu’s determination and convey him for his immense publication and dedication to thrust the nine forward.  

“Everyone astatine the nine wishes him well. We are each truthful fond of him and the affirmative vigor helium brings to everything and everyone.  

“Change and improvement is simply a portion of our club.  We stay focused connected our strategy and winning large trophies. Our succession program volition bespeak this continued ambition.”

EDU GASPAR has been connected a ngo to 'Make Arsenal Great Again' ever since returning to the nine helium played for 2019.

After a fewer wobbles aboriginal connected - signing Nicolas Pepe volition ne'er bespeak good - the Brazilian has, alongside Mikel Arteta, been important successful the club's transformation.

Arteta was brought successful arsenic the caller manager wrong months of Edu's instrumentality to North London and the erstwhile midfielder stuck by the brag erstwhile the unit was connected 2 years into the job.

Instead of making the knee-jerk determination to alteration manager again, the erstwhile Brazil international, joined forces with Arteta to institute a immense alteration of civilization astatine The Emirates.

Overpaid toxic influences specified arsenic Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were purged from the dressing country and Arsenal acceptable astir adding beardown characters.

Edu yet got the nine competing successful the transportation marketplace again, with Martin Odegaard an outstanding seizure for the club. In landing Declan Rice up of Manchester City past twelvemonth Arsenal showed they mates vie for and motion immoderate of Europe's biggest talents erstwhile more.

Arsenal person go 1 of the astir charismatic clubs successful the Premier League and 1 of the astir businesslike successful the market.

While determination person been large deals for the likes of Rice and Calafiori, determination person been astute ones excessively - picking retired worth wherever others person mislaid hope.

Kai Havertz appeared arsenic a astonishing signing aft a dreadful play astatine Chelsea. But aft Edu gave the German abstraction and enactment to rebuild his assurance helium has developed into a good plus for Arteta.

Edu does not lone person a choky narration with Arteta - who galore fans volition beryllium gladsome signed a caller woody earlier the sporting director's departure - but the players too, ever acceptable and waiting to cheque in, support them going.

London Colney and The Emirates volition consciousness a precise antithetic spot for each of them without Edu.

The Magpies won 1-0 acknowledgment to a good header from Alexander Isak.

Here, SunSport's Jordan Davies rates the players...

DAVID RAYA – 6/10
Great aboriginal organisation to spell agelong implicit the Newcastle property but thing helium could bash with Isak’s pin-point header.

Was hardly troubled successful the 2nd fractional but was forced to ticker a lacklustre Arsenal dawdle to different defeat.

THOMAS PARTEY – 7
Looks truly comfy successful that role, adjacent if it is lone temporary, but evidently lacks an attacking menace of a full-back which hindered Saka slightly.

Moved backmost into midfield connected the hr people with Arsenal chasing the game.

WILLIAM SALIBA – 7
A invited beingness backmost successful the antiaircraft enactment pursuing suspension. Covered his antiaircraft spouse good and kept his chill amid Arsenal’s frustration.

GABRIEL – 5
Lost Isak successful the container for Newcastle’s opener and astir handed the hosts different accidental with a sloppy walk out.

Normally a rock, this was 1 of those uncommon jittery displays we thought were a happening of the past.

JURRIEN TIMBER – 6
Looked bully successful onslaught but arguably should person closed down Gordon’s transverse earlier the hosts took the pb and struggled to incorporate the England winger successful the archetypal half.

MIKEL MERINO – 5
Unfortunate not to get connected the people expanse against his erstwhile nine from adjacent scope aft a scramble from a corner.

But arsenic a whole, helium presently looks mislaid successful his position, unsure of erstwhile to spell and erstwhile to beryllium deep, meaning Newcastle were capable to prize Arsenal’s midfield open.

Feels similar we are not seeing the champion of him conscionable yet.

DECLAN RICE – 6
On set-piece duty, his transportation was unusually poor, failing to bushed the archetypal antheral connected galore occasions and struggled to enforce himself successful unfastened play too, adjacent if helium came adjacent with a deflected effort successful the 2nd fractional earlier fluffing a large headed accidental successful wounded time.

If helium is going to beryllium the anchor of this squad and dictate play, helium has got to beryllium a batch better.

LEANDRO TROSSARD – 5
Pretty anonymous different than a fewer surging runs. Another subordinate that looks mislaid successful a floating No.10 relation down the main striker.

The Belgian is astatine his champion cutting successful and utilizing his blistering pace. He tin bash neither done the mediate against a compact absorption set-up.

BUKAYO SAKA – 6
Looked to beryllium getting the amended of Toon right-back Hall aboriginal connected but his crippled faded aft that, on with his team’s.

GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 7
Showed glimpses of being backmost to his buzzing best, taking connected defenders and stretching the crippled for Arsenal, but lone lasted an hr earlier being taken off.

KAI HAVERTZ – 6
Never got a sniff, but got to enactment that down to a implicit deficiency of work from Arsenal’s wide players. He was hopeless to onslaught a decent transverse that ne'er truly came.

SUBS:
ETHAN NWANERI (MERINO, 61) – 6
Given a bully invited to Tyneside with a crunching tackle from Willock seconds aft coming on.

Found immoderate bully pockets of abstraction and look crisp arsenic helium blazed 1 implicit from range, but was ever a large inquire for him to beryllium Arsenal’s saviour.

OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO (MARTINELLI, 61) – 5
Thrown connected to bring tempo and control. Brought neither from an inverted left-back position.

BEN WHITE (TIMBER, 71) – 6
Had lone completed fractional a league to hole for this 1 having picked up a sound against Liverpool past weekend, truthful was a astonishment to adjacent spot him astatine all.

GABRIEL JESUS (TROSSARD) – 5
Tasked with creating thing peculiar from retired wide, but determination is simply a crushed the Brazilian is lone a bit-part subordinate nowadays.

JORGINHO (PARTEY, 86) – N/A

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