Tomas Rosický and Per Mertesacker are two of the names in the running to replace Edu at Arsenal following his surprise departure.

That’s according to Foot Mercato, who report that the two former Arsenal men are in the running to take up the vacant position.

Edu’s departure from the Emirates was announced last week, with him deciding to depart and take up a role with Evangelos Marinakis that will see him oversee all of his football operations.

FM say the recruitment process to replace the Brazilian is already underway and they want to find ‘the rare gem’ to fill the role.

Two names already stand out for them, and they are Rosicky and Mertesacker, both of whom, of course, had playing careers at the club.

Negotiations with Rosický are already underway as he’s currently working as Sporting Director at Sparta Prague. Mertesacker, meanwhile, would be an inhouse appointment as he’s currently academy manager at the club.

He took up that role not long after retiring in 2018 and has been in it ever since and it’s a similar story for Rosický, who took up his current role in December 2018.

Whether either of them end up being the chosen one to replace Edu remains to be seen but they are very much in contention for the big job at Arsenal.