There’s a burning question that needs clarification at Arsenal football club. Who’s pulling the strings in terms of transfer activity ?

Since Unai Emery’s reign, I’ve long suspected that the Gunners complicated management structure has meant that an array of people are involved in the transfer activity and negotiation processes. Everyone it appears apart from the coach.

Yet you have to ask, would Arteta really agree to be Raul Sanllehi’s nodding dog or Edu’s footstool ? I’ve said this before that after Wenger was squeezed out of the Emirates, his replacement, Unai Emery, was given a series of players that weren’t of his choosing.

Pepe and Tierney were long term targets during the last throes of the Wenger era. Torreira wasn’t wanted by Emery and Guendouzi and Leno were all the work of Sven Mislintat. Even Martinelli was the fruit of Edu’s contacts in Brazil and the only time Emery knew anything about this acquisition was when he turned up in his kit for the publicity photographs.

Finally, the loan deals involving Suarez and Ceballos were apparently rubber stamped by Raul Sanllehi with his connections in Spain. The latest names to be fed to supporters via the media have a familiar feel to them with Dayot Upamecano and Thomas Lemar on the list. Both were connected with the Gunners when Wenger ruled the roost.

Edu is apparently trying to secure the summer signing of midfielder Bruno Guimaraes and has also been trying to out manoeuvre Barcelona for the signature of right back Yan Couto.

Layvin Kurzawa, Dejene Dakonam and Jerome Boateng hardly strike me as targets identified by Mikel Arteta. Apparently, Dakonam was a target for Unai Emery and he’s not even there anymore ! One would think that with the knowledge that Arteta has of the Spanish national team and leagues, he might have started looking in his own back yard first and foremost but no.

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I’d hazard a guess that Arsenal’s transfer activity are in the hands of Raul and Edu but the danger of that is that if the coach doesn’t pick the players that make up the squad, it could be impossible to build a functional team.

Let’s hope that Arteta isn’t a conventional coach because it’s clear that Unai Emery couldn’t make it work in his 18 months in charge.

Keep following Arsedevils to know more!