• Former Arsenal midfielder agrees deal in principle • Club targeted Edu after missing out on Monchi

Edu has agreed in principle to become Arsenal’s technical director this summer. The former Arsenal midfielder is currently working for the Brazilian FA but is ready to join the Premier League club after the Copa América, which ends on 7 July.

Arsenal have been looking for a technical director for some time and targeted Edu after their No 1 choice, Monchi, returned to Sevilla after leaving Roma in March.

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Edu, who played for Arsenal between 2001 and 2005 and won two league titles with the club – including the 2003-04 Invincibles season – and two FA Cups, is the coordinator for the Brazil national team and did not want to leave his role before the Copa América, which is held in Brazil this year.

He will have one more meeting with Arsenal to finalise the details of the contract and is then set to sign the agreement.

The Arsenal director of football, Raul Sanllehi, and the managing director, Vinai Venkatesham, are keen to continue the restructuring of the team around the manager, Unai Emery, after the head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, left in February after less than 14 months at the club.

That departure came only five months after Ivan Gazidis, who had been Arsenal chief executive for nearly 10 years, also left to join Milan.

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Arsenal are fifth in the Premier league and it looks as if they will need to win the Europa League to qualify for next season’s Champions League. They are three points behind Tottenham in fourth with a significantly inferior goal difference before the last game of the season.

They are, however, 3-1 up against Valencia in the Europa League semi-finals after the first leg and would play Chelsea or Eintracht Frankfurt in the final should they win the tie on Thursday.