Arsenal boss promises busy summer
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has told his club's fans he shares a "profound disappointment" with them but has promised a busy summer in the transfer market as the club look to end their six-year trophy drought.
What had once looked to be a quadruple bid imploded once the Gunners lost the Carling Cup final to Birmingham, and they ended the Premier League season in fourth place.
Another season without success saw some fans voice their unhappiness with manager Arsene Wenger, especially over his apparent reluctance to spend big on new signings.
But at a question and answer session with the Arsenal Supporters Trust tonight, Gazidis has pledged to start putting things right.
"Coming off the end of the season, I share with you a sense of profound disappointment," he said.
"We had a season that promised a great deal and looked like it could turn into a very special one but in the end a familiar story began to tell itself. I understand the feelings that we all felt.
"It is very clear we had some shortcomings and in this close season we are going to see some turnover of players.
"Some new signings will be coming in and some of our existing squad will be going out. As Arsene has said, it will be a busy close season for the club.
"But also it is important to recognise that it has not been a disaster. We have a young squad and we don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The trick will be identify which parts to keep and which parts to turn over. And we will do that within our financial capabilities."
Those capabilities could be boosted by the club's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke.
The American now owns 66.64% of the club and Gazidis says he "understands" what Arsenal stand for.
He added: "With respect to Stan, we have someone who understands the club.
"He has grown to love Arsenal but he will remain in the background. This is not somebody who steps forward and looks for a public profile."
Kroenke is bidding to take complete control of the club, and some supporters have expressed concerns that he could do so by putting the club into debt.
Gazidis does not think that will happen, though, and said: "The confirmations that Mr Kroenke gave in relation to his offer were, one, that he supports the self-sustainable business model of the club, and secondly that the offer would not be funded by debt against the club or dependent on Arsenal's business.
"Those were two significant commitments and confirmations that he made."
