Arsenal had to 'rethink' their summer transfer strategy, club director Josh Kroenke has admitted.
Failure to beat Chelsea in last season's Europa League final and subsequent failure to qualify for the Champions League meant the Gunners were facing a somewhat uncertain transfer window.
And amid rumours of a £45m budget, some fans didn't have too much optimism heading into the summer.
However, Kroenke's message to Vinai Venkatesham and Raul Sanllehi following the Europa League final loss was to be aggressive in the transfer market.
Fast forward a few months and that message was taken on board.
"I think that we were always going to be - and we will always be - aggressive in trying to improve however we can, whether that’s on or off the pitch," Kroenke told the BBC.
"But as the second half unfolded of the match, understanding the position that we were in and some of the targets as we headed into the summer from a transfer standpoint, we had to rethink some of our strategy based on that last 45 minutes.
"We knew we wouldn’t have Champions League football and certain clubs who attract those type of talents... that’s what they’re after.
"We had to rethink just a few of our things, but my main message to Vinai and Raul coming back from Baku on the plane, which was a very long flight after that match, and then throughout meetings all day the following day with Vinai, Raul and Unai, was ‘Let’s head into the summer, let’s be aggressive and let’s find out what’s possible’.
"These guys went out into the marketplace and, through their contacts and through our fantastic new team behind the scenes at Arsenal, were able to find some talented players who are really excited about playing for Arsenal Football Club."
When the transfer window for Premier League clubs shut on August 8, the Gunners were one of the most active clubs signing as many as six new players.
That included two that were wrapped up on deadline day.
Of the six summer arrivals, four have already made their debuts, Kieran Tierney is making good progress from injury and William Saliba is spending the season on loan at Saint-Etienne.
Club record signing Nicolas Pepe has made two substitute appearances thus far, Dani Ceballos wowed fans on his home debut at the weekend, while David Luiz and Gabriel Martinelli have one appearance each.
