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Former Arsenal midfielder Edu Gaspar has been given the clearance he needed in order to re-join the club in the role of Technical Director.
He is currently working with the Brazil national team who are taking part in the Copa América as General Manager, having previously spent time with the Iranian national squad and local side Corinthians.
The 41-year old will take up his duties with Arsenal once the Copa is over, and he will be allowed to leave with the blessing of his current employers, who will not exercise the £7 million early release clause in his contract.
Edu arrived at Highbury in 2001 and spent four and a half years in North London, winning the Premier League and the FA Cup twice. He was part of the Invincibles squad that went through the entire 2003 – 2004 Premier League season unbeaten.
On the pitch, meanwhile, Brazil got their Copa América campaign off to a winning start as they beat Bolivia 3 – 0 on Friday night, but not before they were booed by their own fans after a goalless draw in Sao Paolo.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.