Raul Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham spoke to the BBC’s David Ornstein this week and, as part of the interview, they had a message for the fans.
After a generally positive start to the season, where Arsenal are making good progress under new head coach Unai Emery, supporters are starting to get excited about the potential for the current campaign.
Venkatesham and Sanllehi urged caution though. They stressed that although they’re driven to get the club on the right path, it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. There will be ups and downs over the course of the season and they need the fans behind the team throughout those.
“No one has a crystal ball on how [the] season will pan out,” Venkatesham said. “There will be ups and downs, we just ask our fans to enjoy that ride.”
“It’s a great run we’re on but let’s not get carried away. Step by step, it’s going to be a rise, let’s enjoy it together, know where we want to get, know it’s lots of hard work to get there, know we’re not the finished article yet but we’re really focused on what we need to do to get this club back to where we want it to be.
“This club is nothing without its fans and having that close connection, having our fans feeling energised and excited about what’s happening at the club is clearly what we want to deliver.”
“We have our own goals and expectations,” Sanllehi added. “We’re going to be as ambitious as [anybody] else, not going to put extra pressure on ourselves, know what we want to achieve and know it’s something the fans will embrace immediately if we achieve what we want.”
It’s certainly worth emphasising that this is a process, rather than the finished product. Getting nine wins in a row is fantastic, but tougher tests are certainly on the horizon and Arsenal won’t pass every single one.
We all want to see the team competing in upcoming matches against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, but it’s more about showing progress at this stage. If Arsenal put in good performances in those games, and show they’re on the right track, the result is less important for now. This is a transition season after all.
To check out the full transcript of the interview, take a look at Ornstein’s tweet below:
Full transcript of interview with Raul Sanllehi & Vinai Venkatesham #AFC pic.twitter.com/mW0T0iZvE3
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) October 19, 2018