What Edu's shock Nottingham Forest move says about Stan Kroenke's takeover plans at Arsenal - opinion
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One of the chief architects of Arsenal’s renaissance in recent ears years, Edu Gaspar’s switch to Nottingham Forest’s multi-club model has come as a major surprise.
Edu, a member of Arsenal’s Invincibles squad in his playing career, is credited with refining the North London’s recruitment and retention strategy since he was named sporting director in 2022.
Prior to that, he spent three years as technical director, where he helped create the foundations that have seen Mikel Arteta make Arsenal competitive at the very top of the Premier League again.
That relative success has in turn breathed new life into the club financially, especially after the Gunners qualified for last season’s Champions League after a seven-year absence.
That has been very well received by Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, who co-chairs the club alongside his son and business partner, Josh Kroenke.
It was a shock therefore when, just hours after a flurry of reports based on leaks from the club emerged, that Edu is set to leave the Emirates.
The apparent reason? Edu has reportedly agreed to join Nottingham Forest’s multi-club structure, where Evangelos Marinakis will triple his £2m-a-year Arsenal salary.
But stories that suggest what the Brazilian’s remit will be at Forest and beyond may well give some indication about why he is set to take the job, as well as about how it differs from the Kroenke project.
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Nottingham’s Forest multi-club network vs. Stan Kroenke’s model
Arsenal are not the only football club that Kroenke owns. Since 2003, Kroenke has also owned MLS side the Colorado Rapids.
That means his involvement in American soccer pre-dates his interests in Premier League football.
However, supporters of the Rapids have occasionally accused Kroenke of neglecting the Rapids, who finished 7th in the MLS Western Conference in 2024.
But although Arsenal are technically part of a multi-club network, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment largely runs the two clubs as entirely separate entities.
While the two sides have met in friendlies in the past and are believe to share some resources, there is nowhere near the same level of synergy as there is in the Red Bull network or City Football Group.
Why is Edu leaving Arsenal: Kroenke’s Emirates-focused strategy?
The multi-club model now appears to be where the smart money is in the world of football finance.
Increasingly, owners are using it to pool costs and resources, create player development pathways, maximise brand visibility, and bypass recruitment regulations.
The multi-club model Edu is joining encompasses Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos, and Rio Ave, and there is certainly more of a collaborative approach across the network than there is in the Kroenke stable.
When Michael Edwards re-joined Liverpool as CEO in the summer, he did so on the assurance from FSG that he would be able to orchestrate a multi-club model with the Merseysiders at the helm.
It may well be that Edu recognises, or perhaps has even been explicitly told, that this is not in Stan Kroenke’s plans to take over any other clubs at present.
By contrast, it sounds as though the 46-year-old will be entrusted with helping to expand Marinakis’ network and operating more as an oversee for the group as a whole, as opposed to one club.
