Keith Wyness savages Edu’s Arsenal ‘flops’ after ‘very surprising’ news

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed Edu Gaspar’s transfer hit record was “50-50” at best after his Arsenal exit.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed he would want to see a success rate of “at least 80%” from his sporting director.

News broke of Edu’s Arsenal exit on Monday (4 November) after five years back at the club in a boardroom role.

Football Insider exclusively revealed that he had agreed a triple-your-money deal with the group run by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis – news which has since been confirmed.

Edu presided over the signings of established Arsenal stars like Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli.

However, he also brought big-money flops like Nicolas Pepe, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Kieran Tierney to the Emirates Stadium.

Wyness rips into Edu’s £800m Arsenal transfer spend

Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I must admit I was very surprised, especially with the timing of it at this time of year.

“But I suppose it’s outside a transfer window, so it’s the right time if it was going to happen.

“If you look at his whole record in terms of transfers, £800million spent – it’s a pretty mixed record.

“He’s had big successes, but he has also had some real flops.

“I spoke to Alex Ferguson once, who told me that if you’re batting at above a 50% success rate – then you’re doing well as a manager.

Declan Rice celebrates for Arsenal

“But as a chief executive, I want to see a much better number. I would want closer to 80% success rate, at least.

“With Edu, I saw it at 50-50 – perhaps even less.”

In other news, Arsenal are “finished” after confirmed injury news – fans devastated.

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