Arsenal decided on ‘aggressive’ transfer approach after Europa League final defeat, says Josh Kroenke

Arsenal director opens up on watching the second half of the capitulation against Chelsea that lead to a drastic change in approach to their summer transfer plans

Arsenal decided to take an “aggressive” approach in the summer transfer window after second-half unravelling in the Europa League final against Chelsea, claims club director Josh Kroenke.

Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign £72m Nicolas Pepe, as well as completing moves for David Luiz, Kieran Tierney, Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba and Dani Ceballos on loan, taking their spending to more than £100m in an effort to revamp Unai Emery’s squad.

It is a drastic change to what was expected from Arsenal, with suggestions in the lead up to the summer that they had just £45m to spend proving wide of the mark.

Kroenke, son of majority owner Stan Kroenke, refused to discuss where the funds came from to support Arsenal’s transfer business, but did explain how he came to such a strategy when flying back with head of football Raul Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham from Baku after the Europa League final.

“I tell our group - across all of our organisations, all of our teams - you’re only as good as your last game,” Kroenke told the BBC. “Unfortunately those last 45 minutes in Baku were not our best. In the moment, there was a lot of frustration - but there was a collective resolve to not have this feeling again anytime soon. We had some great meetings and set out to try to better ourselves this summer and I think we’ve come back to a new season as a stronger club.

“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. 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.”

Arsenal currently sit second in the Premier League as one of only two clubs to have won their opening two matches, behind leaders Liverpool on goal difference.