Edu has provided an update on Arsenal’s plans ahead of transfer deadline day on Friday.
The Gunners’ sporting director was in Monaco to witness the Champions League group stage draw on Thursday evening. The draw was relatively kind to Arsenal giving them Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and RC Lens in group B.
Speaking after the draw to TNT Sports, Edu revealed that he was excited to see Arsenal back in the Champions League after a six-year hiatus. ” Very traditional teams,” he said reacting to Arsenal’s opponents. “Strong ones. You cannot choose the teams you’re going to play. All of them are hard. We’re happy to be in the competition which is the most important.
“When we’re talking about Arsenal we have to play well in all competitions. It will be important to do our best and perform in the best way possible.
“I think the fans and the club really deserve (to be in the Champions League). We worked so hard to come back. It’s a big bonus from last season, the way we behaved as a club and the way everyone worked was to be back in the Champions League.”
With the transfer window just over 24 hours from closing, Edu was also pressed on Arsenal’s plans for the remainder of the transfer window.
“We made one very strong strategy to be proactive at the beginning of the window,” he said. “I think we did it. Now we are talking about trying to balance the squad a bit better. We keep talking to a few clubs. So far we are happy with the transfer window and we have to say thankyou to everybody who has been worked in the club to make that happen. So, good. An exciting season is ahead of us.”
Arsenal are expected to be focused primarily on outgoings heading into the final day of the window. The Gunners have secured exits for Kieran Tierney and Folarin Balogun this week, while Nuno Tavares is set to join Nottingham Forest sooner rather than later.
Beyond that they are open to offers on Rob Holding, Cedric, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nicolas Pepe. All four deals may well take place beyond the closure of the English window at 11pm on September 1st though due to the fact that the transfer windows in Portugal, Turkey and Saudi Arabia close at a later date.
Having added Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya with plenty of time to spare in the window Arsenal are not currently expected to bring in any further players. The club however, remain open to the prospect of a further addition to Mikel Arteta’s squad if the right deal presents itself.