Edu shares his views on rumoured Arsenal departure amid Saudi speculation

Edu has shared his thoughts on rumours of a potential high-profile departure at Arsenal.

The Sporting Director has had a busy summer of transfer business which has seen the club break their club-record transfer fee for Declan Rice, while other high profile players such as David Raya, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz were also added.

Edu has also helped the Gunners offload a number of fringe players and a total of 13 players have left North London for pastures new this summer including their most expensive departure Folarin Balogun.

The Gunners have kept hold of most of their core players from last season’s title race, but there has been heavy speculation surrounding the future of central defender Gabriel Magalhaes in recent weeks.

Gabriel was a key member of the Arsenal team and formed a formidable partnership with William Saliba last term, but he was surprisingly benched for his sides opening three Premier League matches, thus prompting speculation about his future.

The Brazilian international has been linked with a host of clubs including Saudi giants Al-Ittihad who have proven to be major players in this summer's window.

Juventus and Real Madrid were other names linked with a move and former Arsenal star Paul Merson claimed that there must be something going on behind the scenes to prompt this speculation.

He said: "I think something is up with Gabriel Magalhaes,” Merson told Sportskeeda. “I don’t see why Mikel Arteta would break up the effective centre-back pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba.

However, the defender eased worries about his future by returning to the starting lineup in Arsenal’s crucial 3-1 win over Manchester United.

The defender expressed his delight after the game with an Instagram post with the caption: "Great atmosphere today Gunners!! We keep going forward!!"

This post garnered the attention of sporting director Edu who commented with a “top emoji* *clap emoji* *football emoji*  and fire emoji*.”

This suggests that the pair still have a strong working relationship and it appears to show that the player is still a key member of Mikel Arteta’s plans going forward.

Arsenal return to action with a trip to Everton on Sunday 17 September as The Toffees adjust to life without winger Demari Gray.