Arsenal technical director Edu has rubbished claims the club needed to sign a player of Romelu Lukaku’s calibre and believes their two strikers will score at least 40 goals this campaign.
The Gunners were the biggest spenders in England this summer, spending over £150m on six new signings, but have made their worst start to a season in 67 years and sit bottom of the table.
Arsenal signed young players full of potential and drastically lowering the average age of the squad, though there has been huge criticism of the approach.
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Having opened the new Premier League campaign with three straight defeats, there have been suggestions they need proven quality and would have been better off spending the £150m on more established players.
But Edu, who has led the club’s recruitment since 2019, believes Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette already guarantee 40-45 goals per season so a player like Lukaku was not required.
Asked about Arsenal’s transfer approach, Edu told Sky Sports: ‘The case here is we really believe in the players we have in the squad.
‘Maybe other people don’t but we do. If we start to see the squad together, we believe in the squad.
‘I sit with Mikel and we see the squad. We have a striker [Aubameyang] there who delivers to us 25 goals every single season. We have another one [Lacazette] who delivers 15-20 goals every season.
‘We have two very powerful young players from the academy in Saka and Smith Rowe. We believe in them and our squad.’
On Arsenal supporters being concerned by the decision to sign up-and-coming players, the Brazilian added: ‘I really understand that, but I’d also like them to understand the reason and the direction we are going as a club.
‘Of course, it has hurt us to be in that situation. We are hurt, I am hurt. I don’t want to see the club there, but I want to see the team playing together.
‘To be fair, we have had three games and I haven’t seen the team playing together yet. So, I want to see the signings and I want to see the squad prepare. All three games we have played against Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City, unfortunately we have had some difficult moments in terms of Covid and injuries.
‘I want to see the team play together and then let’s judge the team when they play together. Then, after that, no problem. Judge us then. I understand the situation we are in now is really tough. It’s not an excuse but let’s judge the team when they play together.’
