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Arsenal's transformation has pressed on this summer as manager Mikel Arteta and the club's ownership push to make the Gunners the "best club in the world." Achieving that goal requires players who, in the words of chief executive Richard Garlick, can "change the dial."
Arsenal claimed the Premier League title last season for the first time in 22 years, snapping the club's longest-ever championship drought since joining the top flight in 1919. Yet a single title does not build a dynasty, and the Gunners fell at the final hurdle in the Champions League, with European glory still out of reach for England's third most decorated club in history.
That ambition explains why Arsenal pursued Vinícius Júnior before he penned a new deal with Real Madrid, and why the club has invested roughly $482 million (£353 million) across 11 signings since the opening of last summer's transfer window.
"It's certainly the ambition of the club and the owners to be the best club in the world," Arteta told Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal kicking off their title defense at home against Coventry City.
"In order to do that, you need the best facilities, the best stadium, the best supporters, and you need the best squad and the best players in the world. Those are the ones that win you football matches and the ones that can be decisive when it matters.
"That's what we try to build with the players we currently have, and with the players we want to bring in to make the difference for Arsenal."
Garlick described them as players who can "change the dial" and ultimately "take Arsenal forward" in ways that not every member of the current squad may be capable of.
Arsenal's limitations were on full display last season, as they reached the Champions League final only to be thoroughly outclassed by Paris Saint-Germain. The fact that the defeat came only on penalties masked just how one-sided the contest truly was.
Arsenal could be argued to have possessed the Premier League's finest midfield last season. Yet with the enormous physical demands placed on Declan Rice, the Gunners still made Bruno Guimarães the second most expensive signing in club history heading into the new season.
Arsenal Aiming Higher in the Transfer Market
Garlick acknowledged that the quality of player Arsenal are now targeting is on a different level compared to years gone by.
When Arteta was handed the reins just before Christmas in 2019, Arsenal were languishing in 10th place in the Premier League. He inherited a squad with precious few reliable starters, and his first two seasons produced consecutive eighth-place finishes.
From those lowest standings in the Premier League's 20-club era, Arsenal have never looked back. Now, having scaled back to the summit through steady year-on-year progress, the pool of players genuinely capable of improving this squad is shrinking rapidly.
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"In the past we've looked at players that maybe helped build out the squad or get us to a certain level, but now we're competing right at the top level, and we do need to bring in players that are going to change the dial," Garlick said.
"That might be younger players that come into your squad and give them time to develop, and you've seen that in the last couple of years at Arsenal. If we're able to combine those players that are coming through the academy with some of the best players in the world then we've got every chance of maintaining that success and going beyond what we've already achieved."
The truly elite clubs don't just win trophies — they defend them. Retaining back-to-back Premier League titles is something Arsenal have never managed, even during the height of the Arsène Wenger era. The last time the Gunners successfully defended a league crown, Franklin D. Roosevelt occupied the White House, George V sat on the British throne, and World War II had yet to begin. That was 1935.