Liverpool have set an example to the Premier League in regard to the acquisition of talent and how to grow aside to become the best on the continent without external investment.
The model used by the club to buy low and sell high has seen them enabled to then invest big themselves in transformative figures taking them from top-four challengers to champions of Europe. Arsenal meanwhile have faced a period out of Europe and are now building back.
The work of departing sporting director Michael Edwards at Liverpool has become iconic for the club’s modern success. Arsenal technical director Edu can learn from these successes but also the areas that Edwards and the club failed to capitalise on.
Edwards has seen interest akin to that of the players he’s signed grow over the last week. Newcastle United, RB Leipzig and even Real Madrid have been linked.
What made him so successful was the signings of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk amongst others. However, what these three shared in common was their Premier League experience.
Edwards identified players who had experience in and out of England but those that would suit the style of play of Jurgen Klopp.
Edu has now looked to change the approach of previous seasons. Before the investment in Premier League talent was restricted to depth purchases.
Players such as David Luiz, Danny Welbeck and Cedric Soares joined on deals for lower fees designed to add experience and alternative options to the players in those positions.
Last summer saw Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale join for a combined £74 million and the impact on the first team has been significant. Quite the step up in tactic from what had occurred previously.
Like Mane and Van Dijk, Arsenal under Edu’s tutelage are signings players who fit their goals and what the manager is trying to achieve. Both England internationals have enabled Arteta’s build-up from the back to become far more efficient and consistent.
Edu can however learn from what Edwards didn’t achieve. After their Champions League-winning season, the Reds signed just one player in the summer Sepp van der Berg. They won the league thanks to the squad built the year before.
But the following season saw them lose a significant number of defenders with Joe Gomes, Van Dijk and Joel Matip all suffering from long-term issues.
Ibrahima Konate was added in 2021 unsurprisingly but had the club invested sooner and identified their lack of depth in the case of an injury crisis, they may have challenged much more efficiently in defending their title.
Edu, should Arsenal reach their goal of European qualification, cannot rest on the squad as it is. Even after positions of need are acquired in the form of a striker and central midfield, leaving other areas like central defence and the wide positions lacking in strength in depth could be hugely costly.
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