FootyChatter.com

Martin Keown believes Arsenal's Edu may be leaving the club due to him wanting to return to his home country. The Gunners' sporting director is set to make a shock Emirates exit, and has been linked with a role working across Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis' group of clubs - Forest, Olympiacos and Rio Ave. The former Arsenal midfielder has been a key cog in Mikel Arteta's club rebuild, with him helping to recruit stars including Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and William Saliba. Now, it appears the Gunners will have to push for their first Premier League title in over 20 years without him - and former Arsenal midfielder Keown revealed his theory as to why Edu might be leaving. Reacting to the news on White and Jordan, Keown was asked why Edu wouldn't want to see out his 'project' at Arsenal. "Well, I don't know for me what could be better than being in that role for Arsenal, " he said. "He may want to return home to Brazil. " Edu - who was born in Sao Paulo and came through at Corinthians - joined Arsenal in 2001, before leaving for Valencia in 2005. He returned to the club as technical director in 2019. The Gunners went on to win the FA Cup in 2020 and Edu was promoted to sporting director in 2022. Just two months ago, Edu spoke about looking forward to the future of the club and working with Arteta after the Spaniard extended his contract. But now, the Brazilian looks set to leave his close friend behind. Reflecting on the job Edu has done, Keown said: "Ultimately, it took him a while to get going, didn't it, Edu? I mean, he needed some support from those above him. "I think the biggest change in Arsenal was a greater investment in time and inclination from the Kroenke family. And I think that's been mirrored in Josh Kroenke becoming much more visible and much more engaged with Arsenal post the challenges of the European Super League and Arsenal's climb down from that position. "So I think ultimately, if they've got a good relationship, good relationships are nice to have. But Arteta, does he lose a big ally? Does he need a big ally? "Does he already have a relationship with those that make the decisions? I would suspect so. I would suspect that ultimately. Will it be an advantage? It depends if they bring a better sporting director in. "If they bring a better sporting director in, that's got a wider brief, that's got a better understanding of being able to acquire even better players than the ones that Edu did. .. I'm not entirely sure that all of Edo's signings were the greatest signings. "So with that in mind, you've got Arsenal being challenged on the field right now and people perceive it as being challenged off it now. " Keown and Edu played together at Highbury between 2001 and 2005. And whilst he rates his former teammate highly and thinks the Brazilian will be a big miss for the Gunners, he believes the club is in a position to cope. "He's a really good man, " Keown continued. "This will be a loss to the club. There's no doubt about that. But there is huge stability there already with Tim Lewis on the board. "Richard Garlick now is someone that really impresses me and of course the manager. But he's helped to bring a stability to the club, change, the culture's changed back to what we would have seen in the past. It will affect the players because he's at the training ground every day. There's a working relationship. "The players do have a great deal of respect for him. It'd be hard not to like him. I think in the main the signings have been good. The club's started to turn around. "The DNA of the signings now has become very physical, hasn't it? Less technical. And the club is definitely on the way back. It's a shock. But of course it can never be about one person. " He added: "I imagine they're going to get the best man in class to now step in, if this is true, this story. "It's a sad time to see him go, but I think he goes with the blessing of everybody. " talk SPORT understands that a boardroom reshuffle at Arsenal may have played a part in Edu's departure. It is believed that Josh Kroenke, the Gunners vice chairman and son of Stan Kroenke, has been one of the issues for the Brazilian. Edu is also reported by Mail Sport to have lost some of his power within the board at the Emirates. Lewis, who was appointed as a non-executive director at the club in 2020, is said to have seen his influence grow. Garlick has assumed more control after being promoted to CEO earlier this year. Edu may have considered himself a contender for that role while also being saddened by the departure of Vinai Venkatesham who he worked closely with. It is also said that he potentially wants a bigger challenge and a more influential position within a multi-club system, which is why the Forest owner's offer may be appealing. Former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman was also stunned by the reports, with him hearing about them for the first time while speaking to talk SPORT Breakfast. He said: "That’s the first time I’ve heard that and I hope it’s not true. I see Edu when I go in at Arsenal once a week. He’s a great influence at the club, he’s someone you want to keep. "He’s an ex-double winning teammate of mine and he’s someone you want to keep on, so I really hope it’s not true. " After losing to Newcastle on Saturday, Arsenal will be hoping to get back to winning ways in the Champions League against Inter Milan on Wednesday. This service is provided on talk SPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy.