Edu under scrutiny at Forest as Arsenal reunion looms | OneFootball

Edu’s July appointment as Evangelos Marinakis’ global head of football was billed as a statement, yet a chaotic start has left him under scrutiny as Nottingham Forest host Arsenal on Saturday. NY Times reports that a Europa return has given way to a relegation fight under a third manager.

At Arsenal, the 47-year-old helped reshape recruitment alongside Mikel Arteta, rising from technical director in 2019 to sporting director. Signings such as Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice landed on his watch, though Willian and Fabio Vieira were costly missteps, before he left in November 2024.

He departed amid growing coaching influence over transfers and the grind of financial rules, and was lured by a wider role across Olympiacos and Rio Ave. Andrea Berta later led a big-spending 2025 window, including Viktor Gyokeres, with a tighter first-team brief.

Forest’s summer quickly unravelled. Nuno Espirito Santo, renewed on June 20, bristled at July’s recruitment pace and left three games in after Omari Hutchinson arrived for a club-record £37.5million rather than the Adama Traore reunion he preferred. Ange Postecoglou’s short spell was followed by Sean Dyche.

Loans for Oleksandr Zinchenko and Douglas Luiz have yet to fully land, injuries restricting the former to four league starts. Luiz has impressed at times, though an appearance-based clause could compel a £20million permanent. With Arnaud Kalimuendo sent to Eintracht Frankfurt five months after a £26million move, Forest seek a striker while sitting 17th, seven points above third-bottom West Ham.

Source: NY Times