Edu: Judge Arsenal when the whole team plays

Having lost all of their first three matches of the new season, Arsenal found themselves at the bottom of the table before the international break. The Gunners, who are yet to score their first Premier League goal of the season, have been heavily criticized by fans, but Edu says it is still too soon to judge Mikel Arteta’s team.

"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,"

he said to 

.

"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.”

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe, and Ben White have not been able to fully participate in Arsenal’s matches, while Thomas Partey, Gabriel, and Eddie Nketiah are still out of action. 

"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."

Having signed six new players this summer, Arsenal spent a busy transfer window. Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Nuno Tavares were all added to Arsenal’s ranks, with the north London side becoming the biggest-spending team in the English top-flight over the summer.

Edu says the club are looking to build a strong foundation, on which they can improve the team’s performances.

"We signed six players who are under 23, which means a lot in terms of our planning."

he said.

"Normally, people like to see just one window, so I have to say it is the bigger picture because we started planning this squad a year ago in terms of consolidating the team and to try to get a better foundation.

"If you remember, in that period we renewed Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli a year ago with the intention to get that kind of base in the team. In a one-year period, we signed 10 players and seven of the 10 are under 23. We renewed seven players in this period as well, just in the first team. Five of the seven are under 23 as well.

"Why did we do that? Because we have a reason to try again to create a good foundation and then, one day, maybe we are going to sign one or two players only. But after that, it's impossible to sign one or two players only because we have a lot to do."

He added:

"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."

After the international break, Arsenal will continue their Premier League campaign with a match against Norwich City on September 11.

Follow

for the

.