Three years into his time as Arsenal technical director, Edu continues to divide opinion amongst fans.
The Gunners finally look to be on an upward trajectory, and while the former Brazil midfielder's transfer dealings when it comes to signing players has generally been successful, his decisions when it comes to offloading them have been scrutinised.
Take the tumultuous January transfer window for example: club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wasn't wanted by manager Mikel Arteta, so Edu and his fellow Arsenal chiefs were happy hand the striker a £7 million pay-out just so that he could leave north London and sign for LaLiga giants Barcelona.
That decision mirrored the Gunners' stance when it came to letting go of Mesut Ozil, once the jewel of Arsenal's crown when ex-boss Arsene Wenger was regularly guiding them to the Champions League. With Arteta not fancying the German magician after he fell out of favour under predecessor Unai Emery, Ozil's contract was terminated at the reported cost of £16.38m, having agreed to pay 90 per cent of his wages for the first six months of his three-and-a-half year deal with Turkish behemoths Fenerbahce.
Now, in the summer of 2022, the Gunners find themselves in a similar situation with another high-earning star, Hector Bellerin. The 27-year-old academy graduate still has 12 months left on his contract but following a successful loan spell with boyhood club Real Betis last season, CBS Sports claim that Bellerin has already made peace with the idea of departing the Emirates on a permanent basis.
However, it's stated that any clubs interested in the Spaniard - or any of his Arsenal teammates also nearing the end of their deals - are acutely aware of Edu and co's willingness to rip up their players' deals in order to move them on and save money in the long run, a precedent set with Aubameyang and Ozil's messy departures.
Understandably, prospective buyers would rather hold out on the likes of Bellerin as opposed to forking out cash themselves when the chance to sign them for free is a possibility. Some would argue that clearing out the deadwood is worth it for the Gunners, but it certainly muddles their plans to offload unwanted players.
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Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Konstantinos Mavropanos also spent last term out on loan and only have contracts until June 2023, meaning that clubs will be reluctant to hand over bags of cash when Arsenal could subside their moves.
Bernd Leno finds himself in a not dissimilar predicament, as his deal expires in 12 months' time, too. However, the Gunners goalkeeper insists his main ambition is to stay and fight for his place at the Emirates, despite being usurped by Aaron Ramsdale early the in campaign and making just one Premier League appearance after August.
