Arsenal staff receive email from club chief explaining summer transfer strategy

The entirety of Arsenal’s workforce received an email from chief executive Vinai Venkatesham following the closure of the transfer window, clarifying the rationale behind the club’s summer expenditure.

Arsenal took their summer spending to an unprecedented £140million on deadline day following the acquisition of Japan international defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

The Gunners, despite a lack of European football for the first time in a quarter of a century, have invested heavily in a group of youngsters who, it is hope, will spend the peak years of their careers at the Emirates Stadium helping to accelerate a rebuilding project which has badly stalled over the course of the last 12 months.

Manager Mikel Arteta is under pressure following a disastrous start to the new campaign which sees his side rooted to the bottom of the fledgling Premier League table with a goal difference of minus nine following three straight defeats.

Venkatesham acknowledged that Arsenal’s recent form fell well below the standard expected but essentially gave Arteta a vote of confidence ahead of a ‘cruicial’ run of games which follows the international break.

‘At times like this it is critical we stick together and stay positive,’ read the email as reported by The Evening Standard. ‘We have a very important run of games coming up after the international break and I’m confident we can and will come out fighting.

‘Our approach for this window was framed by fully recognising that we are not where we want to be on the pitch — finishing eighth last season, with no European football for the first time in many years.

‘This is well below the standards each of us all have, and of course that our fans rightly demand of us, which is to be competing for the biggest trophies in the game.

‘Whilst we would love to jump from where we are to where we want to be in an instant, we need to be realistic that the gap is too large to do that. As such, our activity this window has been focused on youth.

‘Our strategy is to fill our squad with some of Europe’s most exciting young talent, with players from both our academy and further afield, that can grow and develop together under Mikel to take us where we want to get to.

‘Whilst this will not be overnight, we can make positive progress, and it gives us the best route to future success in a sustainable way.

‘Although Covid and no European football bring financial challenges, our owners, Stan and Josh Kroenke, have sanctioned very significant investment this transfer window in support of our strategy,” he said.

‘This has included signing Nuno Tavares (21), Ben White (23), Sambi Lokonga (21), Martin Odegaard (22), Aaron Ramsdale (23) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (22), as well as renewing deals with Emile Smith-Rowe (21) and Kieran Tierney (24). All of these players are signed on long-term contracts.’

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