‘They show with facts and acts’

The arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko has taken the number of new signings so far this summer to five.

Marquinhos, Matt Turner, Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus had already been added to the squad in pre-season, before Mikel Arteta further bolstered his playing staff with the addition of the Ukraine international.

Zinchenko is the 17th permanent signing since Arteta took over in December 2019 and the manager is continuing to reshape his squad as he heads into his third full season in charge.

Ten of the last 11 signings have been aged 25 or under, and the boss said that the aim is to get to a point where the squad can sustain itself.

“If you look at how all the teams have done it (in the transfer market) and where we were, there was a transition moment where that has to change at some stage,” he said.

“Look at where we are investing the money. We have made big investments, but investments for the future, with huge talent. We have to have the possibility in the future to have the squad that can sustainably be financed by itself. That’s the objective.”

The boss paid tribute to the club ownership structure for the support they have shown him in the transfer market since he took over, and said it was beneficial to spend some time with both Stan and Josh Kroenke during the team’s pre-season tour to America.

“I’ve been really impressed,” he added. “They were here for two days, we had a lot of time to sit down in a really relaxed way to talk about football and talk about sport in general.

“The vision that they have, the commitment and as well the level of understanding they have of the sport in general is fascinating. I can tell you that I have never seen ownership at that level so committed, close and engaged to bring this club where we want it.

“They show (it) with facts and acts, and their presence here as well.

“I guarantee you that they are fully committed, engaged and really looking forward to taking this club to the top.”