Edu left a five-man shortlist for his Arsenal sporting director successor, there’s updates on three

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Arsenal were stunned by Edu Gaspar’s resignation as sporting director with the hunt for his successor underway.

The Brazilian departed the Emirates to bring his partnership with Mikel Arteta to an abrupt end.

Edu’s Arsenal exit shocked Arteta, who had built quite a relationship with the former Gunner over their years together working behind the scenes at the Emirates.

For Edu, the journey is just beginning as he prepares to commence a new venture with a similar approach underway in N5 with the search for his successor ongoing. 

• READ MORE: What Edu Gaspar did just before resigning at Arsenal shows that he was desperate to leave

Arsenal searching for a sporting director to replace Edu Gaspar 

Following Edu’s exit, there’s been a lot of speculation regarding who will replace the Brazilian in North London.

Santi Cazorla previously said he’d love to return to Arsenal in a similar role, and he’s not the only ex-player to be of interest.

One of Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky could be Edu’s successor however, the search is beginning to creep outside of the walls of Colney.

During the November international break, the Gunners were alerted to news in Spain as Real Sociedad’s sporting director Roberto Olabe announced his exit.

Olabe will be available for work at the end of the 2024/25 season although, he’s not the only figure said to be on Arteta’s radar.

Arsenal see Thiago Scuro as a replacement for Edu, with the Brazilian currently director of AS Monaco.

Who the actual replacement for Edu will be is yet to be determined however, whoever takes the reigns has a clear problem to solve.

Updates on Edu’s five-man transfer list 

One thing that supporters will want to see from the next sporting director is a reliable number nine to be signed.

Before his exit, Edu compiled a five-man Arsenal transfer shortlist, which could come of great use to his eventual successor.

The names on the shortlist include Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, with updates coming on the other three.

One is Dusan Vlahovic, who is Juventus’ favoured talisman. 

Arsenal are looking at Vlahovic as a target in January, with the 24-year-old being of interest to the Premier League side.

Jonathan David is an option for the Gunners in January and some reports are claiming that Arteta could hire the Canadian for as low as £16m this winter.

Finally, an update on Viktor Gyokeres has been provided however, the Sweden international will not be available to purchase in January.

Arsenal’s interest in Gyokeres was confirmed as it became clear that the 26-year-old will be permitted an exit from Sporting CP after the 2024/25 campaign.