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Berta can do no wrong | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal fans must remember one of the key pioneers of their current success.
Christmas day. Tis the season for giving and celebration, but it also a good time of year to show gratitude. For Arsenal fans, there is plenty to be grateful for as they wake up on Christmas morning to check the Premier League table solely for the purpose of generating a smile, knowing full well their team is currently the metaphorical star atop the Premier League tree.
Arsenal fans had some tough years, particularly post-Arsene Wenger, languishing on the edges of European football. There a couple of reasons to smile, including good times in the FA Cup, but Europa League final and semi-final defeats spoiled other potential highlights amid tough times in the Premier League.
Over recent years, the troughs, so to speak, have been failures to bring home a Premier League title, but Arsenal have been excellent overall, racking up big points totals and allowing fans to celebrate wins in the majority of games. That felt a long way from reality during some of those tricky times.
Mikel Arteta has been pivotal, and work on and off the pitch has allowed Arsenal to rediscover their roots. They now feel like a hometown team to fans again, rather than the Premier League conglomerate they once resembled, leaving fans feeling distanced from their favourite team.
Among the positives at the Emirates Stadium currently is Andrea Berta, who was appointed sporting chief in the wake of Edu Gaspar moving on to pastures new at Nottingham Forest. Berta has proved an excellent appointment, making some brilliant new signings like Martin Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze, while he has also agreed key new contracts.
William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri are among those to pledge their long-term future to the club, and there are suggestions aplenty that Bukayo Saka’s deal will finally be taken care of this winter.
It feels as though Berta has done everything right during his time at the club so far, and for Arsenal fans, he can do no wrong. But at this festive time of gratitude, Arsenal fans should dig a little deeper than the obvious.
Much was made of Edu’s work as Arsenal sporting director, and as is often the case at this level of sports, more was made of the Brazilian’s shortcomings than the positive work he was able to do at the Emirates Stadium.
While partly valid, much of that sentiment comes from the fact Arsenal were not able to get the job finished as it pertains to the Premier League title, something Arteta has his share of the blame for, of course, as do the players who were here during those failed title efforts.
But Arsenal fans should remember that the luxury position Berta walked into was only possible because of the work Edu did. That’s not to say Berta hasn’t done excellent work - both things can be true - but Edu’s recruitment took the Gunners from being European outsiders hoping for Europa League qualification to a title contender qualifying for the Champions League every year.
Plenty of money was spent, yes, but together Edu and Arteta combined wise talent acquisition with utilisation of academy talent to create much of the squad Arsenal have today. That meant that when Berta arrived, his remit was to sprinkle extra quality and depth on an already strong squad while taking care of contracts to keep the spine of this team together.
While not easy by any stretch, that’s a much easier task than what Edu was tasked with, which was to transform this team, albeit with the help of hundreds of millions. And that does make things easier, but there are also plenty of sporting chiefs and clubs who did manage such success even with that kind of money.
Berta has been brilliant for Arsenal, and he may play a vital role in finally delivering Arsenal’s next Premier League title, but he received the ultimate assist from his predecessor. If - and perhaps when - Arsenal achieve title success, either home, in Europe or both, the Gunners faithful must fondly remember Edu’s role in that success becoming a reality.
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