The Gunners fell just short of their first title in 20 years (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal sporting director Edu says the club have been working on their summer transfer plans since January, while he also made a pointed comment about champions Manchester City.
For the second year running, Mikel Arteta’s side fell just short of winning their first Premier League title in two decades after being pipped to the trophy by City on the final day of the season.
Just two points separated the two teams, who also had exactly the same goal difference, with Arsenal winning six games on the bounce in the run-in only to end the campaign empty handed.
Edu is already plotting a way to close the gap even further and has revealed how meticulous Arsenal are in their recruitment process, with plans formulated as far back as January.
Speaking to Brazilian publication Estadao, Edu explained: ‘You can’t sign players for the sake of signing.
‘This has to be a process that takes weeks and weeks. There on my desk, I have reports with more than 180 pages on a player.
‘It’s really detailed stuff. Physical, technical, mental profile, if you have Premier League experience, if you will be able to adapt. It has everything.
‘We analyse our weaknesses, where we can improve, where we can invest and then we go in search of that new name.
Edu and Arteta in discussion during January’s winter training camp (Picture: Getty)
‘What I am going to do now, we have been discussing since January. It’s not my decision or Mikel’s alone. It belongs to a whole group.’
Edu was left with a bittersweet feeling after Arsenal came so close to ending their Premier League title drought, with the team collecting just one less point than the famous Invincibles side did.
Arsenal could not have done much more to try and topple Manchester City, yet the season ultimately ended in frustration and Edu appeared to make reference to the 115 charges hanging over the champions despite praising the achievements of Pep Guardiola.
‘It’s a strange feeling, very strange, because we ended the season with a feeling that we did everything very well,’ said Edu.
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‘From recruitment and objectives to renewals. Mikel did a great job and achieved his goals. We did everything we could, but it wasn’t enough.
‘There is frustration, but there is also a positive feeling that the process was done well. The work was excellent.’
On City, he continued: ‘There are things that unfortunately I cannot say what I feel.
‘But all the credit in the world to Pep [Guardiola] for the coaching and work he’s been doing since he started his career.’
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