Edu broke down in tears after being jailed when trying to sign for Arsenal

Arsenal sporting director Edu has opened up on how he was reduced to tears after spending time in jail due to a misunderstanding over the use of a fake passport.

The 43-year-old joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019 as their transfer chief, having previously worked with the Brazil national team.

The Brazilian returned to link up with Arsenal after spending four years in north London when he signed from Corinthians for £6million in 2001.

But the story behind his transfer from Brazil to England was far from straightforward after complications arose over his eligibility to play in England.

Arsenal had agreed to sign Edu in 2000 but were forced to delay the transfer by a year after the midfielder was detained by police on his arrival at London Heathrow Airport.

Having arrived in the UK to complete his transfer, he was kept in custody for 10 hours after it emerged his passport was counterfeit.

It was reported at the time by The Guardian that Edu had entered on a Brazilian passport for his medical and planned to do the same when he landed in London.

But he decided to use his Portuguese papers when he saw the queue for non-EU passport control at Heathrow.

Speaking to The Athletic, Edu spoke of his concern when he was informed that he would be barred from entering the country: "We're sorry. You will not be allowed to enter the country," he was told.

Edu was held while border control officials sought to investigate what had happened, leaving the midfielder heartbroken at the prospect of being denied by his dream move.

"At first, I was really relaxed," he said.

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"I explained I was a footballer, that I was here to join Arsenal. And then they said, 'Sorry, your passport is a fake'.

"I said, 'What do you mean, 'fake'?!'

"My father is Portuguese, my grandmother is Italian, my grandfather is from Portugal and was born there. All my family is from Portugal or Italy."

Edu was seemingly unaware that his agent at the time, Juan Figger, had acquired the documentation quickly in order to push through the deal, and he was forced to head back to Brazil on the next flight.

"They told me they were sorry, but I had to go back to Brazil. That's when they put me in a cell," he added.

"I was in there for 10 hours. You have to be imprisoned while you wait for the next plane.

"When I got there, I realised how serious the situation was. That's when I started to cry — 'Man, I'm in prison'.

"I called my father straight away. I was in tears. I said, 'Listen, I'm in jail'.

"Imagine the panic, the questions. I had to explain to them over the phone, ask them to contact the agent. It was a big mess."

Unsurprisingly, Edu cut ties with his former agent and his brother negotiated his move to Arsenal with then-chairman David Dein, joining in January 2001.

He went on to make 127 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Premier League and FA Cup twice, and featured as part of the 'Invincibles' squad that went an entire season unbeaten in 2003-04.