Arsenal held a series of meetings with Unai Emery and the players after it was finally announced that Ivan Gazidis would leave the club for more money with AC Milan.

Leaving to join his mate, Paul Singer who heads up Elliott Management that took over the Serie A side when their Chinese owners defaulted on a loan payment, Gazidis prevaricated over his decision for a couple of months before finally agreeing to take the extra £1m-a-year.

He will leave Arsenal after 10 years at the club, having achieved very little in the eyes of the fans but heads to Milan with them declaring him a ‘World Class CEO’ who ‘brought Arsenal to new heights’. If you remember, we fell out of the Champions League for the first time in two decades under his tenure.

The Daily Telegraph reports that on Tuesday after the news was made public, the club’s new executive team that consists of Raul Sanllehi finally being called ‘Head of Football’ and Vinai Venkatesham who has been promoted from Chief Commercial Officer to Managing Director held a series of meetings at London Colney and the Emirates.

The meetings were held to reassure the playing staff about the club’s direction and strategy moving forward. “That is for Arsenal to compete again to win the biggest prizes by implementing a culture of cutting-edge practice at every level and by investing resources in the squad from an annual turnover that exceeds £400 million,” Jeremy Wilson writes in Wednesday’s Telegraph.

“There is an acceptance that Arsenal cannot currently compete financially with the very elite of European football, but a feeling that it is possible to return next season to the Champions League if resources are used intelligently.”

Sanllehi will deal with footballing matters concerning the men’s, women’s and youth teams while Venkatesham will concentrate on the commercial side, club finances, human resources, marketing, and Arsenal in the community.