There was a sense of deja vu at Arsenal's Annual General Meeting Thursday, with the big guns of the board and the manager trumpeting the same old stories that every Arsenal fan has been hearing for the past eight years.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis was expectedly met with a round of boss from the Arsenal shareholders, with many questioning his financial policies and accusing him of "ruining the club."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, however, despite not delivering a trophy for ages, was met by a round of applause with the manager starting his address with an apology for the consecutive defeat against Norwich City and Schalke in the English Premier League and Champions League respectively - the reception showing the amount of respect the Frenchman still commands at Arsenal.
Wenger, however, admitted winning a trophy -- any trophy -- was not as important as qualifying for the Champions League. "For me, there are five 'trophies' -- the first is to win the Premier League, the second is to win the Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League, the fourth is to win the FA Cup and the fifth is to win the League Cup.
"I say that because if you want to attract the best players, they do not ask 'did you win the League Cup?,' they ask you 'do you play in the Champions League?.'"
Wenger reiterated his faith in the current team to deliver a major honor this season. "If everybody is absolutely devastated when we finish third in the league, I promise you I will not be here if you finish 15th one day," he said.
"We did not produce a good performance last night, but let's not forget it was a first home defeat in the Champions League for 43 games -- not many teams do that.
"It is always difficult after a defeat to take a distance with the result and look at the bigger picture.
"This team started in a very dynamic and promising way. We hit the wall in the last two games, which was a bit inexplicable, but the attitude and focus of the team every day is fantastic.
"I believe this team can deliver and I am optimistic we will have a good season and the players will show I am right."
Arsenal have not won the Premier League title since the 'invincibles' did it in 2003-04, but Wenger insisted it would remain the priority regardless of the financial policies of the club, while calling for unity among the Arsenal supporters. "We want first to win the Premier League, that is what we are here for and that is what we want to fight for - believe me will give absolutely every drop of energy to achieve that and will do that again this year," he added.
"It is still important that we keep our strength and stay united for the good of Arsenal, sometimes you can forget that."
Arsenal's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, who along with chairman Peter Hill-Wood, was also roundly booed by the 1000-strong crowd before their speeches, insisted he was at Arsenal to win trophies. "I am ambitious for the club and we all share the same goal," he said. "The reason I am involved in sport is to win. It's what it's all about. Everything else is a footnote.
"I can assure you no-one is more ambitious than me. Arsenal is a tremendous club with a track record of consistent performance at the top level.
"That is very rare but we have managed it. I know that will continue as we move forwards. We have an exciting future and our goal is to win trophies."
"Silent Stan" as he is known among Arsenal circles for being in the background a little too much also owns the St Louis Rams, the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Rapids and the Colorado Avalanche.
