The Gunners went into deadline day only really expecting to get one deal done.
Aaron Ramsdale completed a move to Southampton in search of first-team football, leaving Arsenal to go for another goalkeeper.
In came Neto from Bournemouth as Arsenal struck a loan deal until the end of the season for the 35-year-old stopper.
That seemed to be the end of the business but Arsenal had one more deal to complete.
Winger Raheem Sterling completed a last-gasp loan move from Chelsea, reuniting with his former Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta in the process.
Chelsea's English midfielder #07 Raheem Sterling (2-L) shoots to score past Bournemouth's Brazilian goalkeeper #01 Neto (L) during the English Prem...
Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
Edu key to Neto deal
Arteta is the face of this Arsenal project and he has done an incredible job to push the Gunners into title contention.
The man behind the masterplan though is Edu Gaspar with the Brazilian continuing to work wonders in the transfer market.
Edu’s first deadline day signing was goalkeeper Neto, a player who has been on Arsenal’s radar for many years now.
The veteran goalkeeper is in from Bournemouth to support David Raya and Edu’s influence has been highlighted.
Football London claim that Edu has a ‘close relationship’ with Neto’s representatives, Bertolucci Sports.
Key agent Giuliano Bertolucci is a fellow Brazilian and Edu seems to have formed a strong bond with his compatriot.
That may not sound like groundbreaking stuff but the relationships with agents are absolutely vital.
Yes, scouting and data analysis are important too but Jamie Carragher has already highlighted how agent relationships are key.
Carragher noted on Stick to Football earlier this year that he spoke to Liverpool’s former transfer chief Michael Edwards, who has since returned to the Fenway Sports Group.
Carragher admitted expecting to learn so much about Liverpool’s recruitment process, but Edwards noted that agent relationships were the ‘massive’ factor now.
“I went to see him (Edwards) once because I wanted a bit more information. It wasn’t for me to come out and speak about, but obviously this is years later,” said Carragher, as quoted by This Is Anfield.
“I’m expecting some real big insight about how many scouts they’ve got, how they watch them, how they see different things. And he just said: ‘The biggest thing for us about getting the players that we want is relationships with agents’.
“I was expecting more than that but he was a bit like ‘It’s massive basically’. You see like agents fees, don’t you, at the end of every season. I’m not saying it’s just about the money but he was saying about having good relationships with their agents,” he added.
Edu seemingly follows a similar train of thought and used those agent connections to secure Neto on deadline day.
Arsenal have one of the best in Edu
Edu’s reputation with agents appears to be strong.
“Edu at Arsenal, for example, is really well thought of among most of the agencies and agents in the world, he’s very well-connected,” said David Ornstein on The Transfers Podcast in August.
This isn’t just Bertolucci; it seems that Edu has really struck up a great connection with multiple agents around the world, helping Arsenal enormously in the transfer market.
Edu’s approach has been outstanding; Arsenal have invested in young talents but haven’t been afraid to go and sign more experienced players or those who don’t have huge ‘resale value’.
Jorginho, Leandro Trossard, Neto, Raheem Sterling… all of these players have been tried and tested in the Premier League before joining Arsenal.
The Gunners have a great mix in terms of youth and experience whilst Edu will certainly back his scouting eye alongside his reputation with major agents in the game.
One more story about Edu emerged around deadline day.
The Arsenal chief was supposed to be in Monaco for the Champions League draw but cancelled his plans in order to force Arsenal deals over the line.
Maybe Edu could have worked on deals in Monaco, maybe he could have delegated to those around him until he returned.
Instead, Edu was completely hands-on in terms of getting late business done and Arsenal have now landed two experienced performers on loan with no long-term commitments.
Maybe Arsenal are still lacking depth in some positions but this was another positive window for Arsenal and one which finished with a flourish thanks to Edu.
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