“Internally we are calling this period ‘The New Chapter’ which I think says a lot,” Raúl Sanllehí smiles as he settles into his seat at the beginning of a long chat on the future of Arsenal, one held over coffee and pastries. Sanllehí, the club’s head of football, is joined by managing director Vinai Venkatesham, and over the following hour variations of the phrase crop up time and again. A new chapter. A new project. A new direction. Arsenal are a club enveloped in change.

As Unai Emery continues to remould Arsenal on the pitch, with the club on a long undefeated run stretching back over three months, Sanllehí and Venkatesham have been busy restructuring away from it. The departure of chief executive Ivan Gazidis — “a surprise,” Venkatesham admits — consummated the duo's ascent to the top of the tree. Arsenal had suddenly become, in the words of Sanllehí, “one organisation — but with two leaders.”

The unlikely duo have certainly been busy. Sanllehí, who brings a wealth of experience from his decade of considerable influence at Barcelona, takes care of footballing matters. Meeting other clubs, negotiating transfers, brokering contracts. Venkatesham, a loquacious Oxford graduate who has previously worked for Deloitte and the British Olympic Association, is the business brain. Both are convinced that the club’s much-maligned ‘self-sustaining business model’ can prove a success.

“It is not going to be easy, but I absolutely, 100 per cent believe that Arsenal can get back to where it needs to be,” Venkatesham insists. “The first step we need to do is get back into the Champions League and then we need to start competing and then we need to start winning the biggest trophies in the game. I believe we can do that. Equally, I also am not naïve enough to know that is going to be challenging and that this isn't a difficult and competitive environment.”

Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Show all 30 1 /30 Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Juan Mata – Manchester United The former Chelsea player will be a good addition to most teams REUTERS Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Gianluigi Buffon – PSG At 40, the veteran goalkeeper can still do a job at a top club Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Filipe Luis – Atletico Madrid The 32-year-old would make a good addition to most side Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Diego Godin – Atletico Madrid The experienced defender would be a great quick-fix Getty Images Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Dani Alves – PSG Is there one final move for one of the most successful players of a generation? AFP/Getty Images Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Antonio Valencia – Manchester United The experienced defender is unlikely to remain first choice at United Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Franck Ribery – Bayern Munich The experienced winger could be set to leave Bayern in the summer Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Nacho Monreal – Arsenal The versatile defender has been getting better each season at Arsenal Getty Images Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Daniel Strurridge – Liverpool The injury-prone forward might be worth a gamble from a Premier League side Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Gary Cahill – Chelsea The English defender is seeking more matches as he reaches the latter part of his career AP Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Juanfran – Atletico Madrid The seasoned defender still competes against the best in the game Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Pablo Zabaleta – West Ham When he’s not in Sky studios he can be found occasionally holding his own in the Premier League REUTERS Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Arjen Robben – Bayern Munich Does the Dutch winger have one final move in him? Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Santi Cazorla – Villarreal The popular midfielder is making his return following a horrific injury Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Andrea Barzagli – Juventus There are few trophies the experienced defender has not won Getty Images Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Adrien Rabiot – PSG The young midfielder has caught the attention of many clubs in Europe Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Fernando Torres – Sagan Tosu The Spaniard’s time in Japan comes to an end in December 2019 Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Ander Herrera – Manchester United Is there room in the United midfield to keep Herrera? PA Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Andreas Pereira – Manchester United Jose Mourinho was very complimentary towards him in pre-season Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Leighton Baines – Everton Baines is beginning to be replaced in the Everton side Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Michel Vorm – Tottenham The Spurs reserve goalkeeper will bring experience to any side Getty Images Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Danny Welbeck – Arsenal The England forward suffered a nasty injury that could keep him out for a while Arsenal FC via Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Mohamed Diame – Newcastle Consistent form has been hard to come by for the powerful midfielder Getty Images Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Wes Morgan – Leicester He captained his side to Premier League glory, which has to be worth something Getty Images Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Jakub Blaszczykowski – Wolfsburg Once a star at Borussia Dortmund, the Polish winger’s career has slightly declined Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Fernando Llorente – Tottenham Athletic Club could offer him an early exit from Tottenham Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Stephan Lichtsteiner – Arsenal The Gunners will have to decide whether they have seen enough to keep him PA Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 Yacine Brahimi – Porto Newcastle, West Ham and Everton are said to be interested in the tricky winger Getty Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 James Milner – Liverpool The fine-wine of a midfielder will be a popular player for plenty of top-flight sides Action Images via Reuters Best free agents your team could sign for nothing in 2019 David Ospina – Napoli The Colombia and former Arsenal goalkeeper could be a good option REUTERS

But before the club can aspire to win these tournaments, they must first quality for them. Arsenal have never been in a position to compete with the unfettered sovereign wealth of Europe’s biggest spenders, a situation hardly helped by two consecutive finishes outside of the top four. As a result, the club’s football revenues have steadily decreased over the past two years. So for how much longer can they expect to compete while locked outside the Champions League?

“The gap between the Champions League and Europa League does flex depending on how well you do in the competition,” Venkatesham argues. “But, yes, we do have a self-sustaining business model and so the more years you spend outside of the Champions League the bigger the strain it puts on the business model. Yet we run the business in a responsible way and we have a robustness built into the model, so that we can have some seasons in the Europa League and still make the investments we need.”

For the time being, however, those investments are unlikely to include many big-money signings, particularly considering the club’s stretched and rather sloping wage-bill. Instead, the club wants to spend money more efficiently — “it is early days, but players like Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi already look to be a big part of our future,” says Venkatesham — with Sanllehí particularly determined to end the costly practice of running down players’ contracts.

Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck and Petr Cech are all free to leave the club in the summer, 18 months after Alexis Sanchez decided to up sticks for Manchester United. Sanllehí has pledged to “improve clarity”.

“It is no secret that the sooner you leave out the uncertainty of the length of the contract, the better,” he admits. “You should try to always avoid going into the last year of a contract for many different reasons — from the club’s side and also for the player. We will try to get clarity earlier. As a normal rule all clubs would rather not go into the last year of a contract, because then you have clarity over whether you want to sell, renew or send out on loan. All the options over that period.”

Ramsey’s protracted contract situation has been a frustrating and unnecessary wrinkle in an otherwise encouraging start to the new season. Results have been positive, with Arsenal two points and one place in the Premier League table better off than last season. They are through to the last eight of the Carabao Cup and last 32 of the Europa League. And Emery’s arrival has proven overwhelmingly popular with supporters, with a clear transformation already well underway.

Arsenal chiefs Vinai Venkatesham and Raul Sanllehi (Getty)

Sanllehí and Venkatesham both played important roles in the process to appoint Emery and the pair remain convinced that they selected the right successor to Arsène Wenger’s 21-year reign.

“His energy is just absolutely extraordinary,” says Venkatesham. “I remember that he said in his first press conference that the one thing he would promise to the fans is that he would work hard. Obviously, everybody just thought it was a throwaway comment but he is always on it — his work ethic is extraordinary. When you are on that long flight home from eastern Europe after a Europa League game and everybody is trying to sleep, he is re-watching the game, analysing it. All times, all hours. His energy and passion is infectious.”

Emery’s is not the only appointment the pair are proud of. Former captain Per Mertesacker was named academy manager in the summer and has been a hit. “I have got to say, I am blown away by Per,” Venkatesham nods. “It is almost impossible to believe that it is only a few months since he was playing football and he has been extraordinary already. And we need to make sure our academy pathway continues to drive great talent into the first-team.”

But for all of the careful optimism now rolling around The Emirates, Stan Kroenke's overall ownership of the club remains unpopular, especially after the American bought out Alisher Usmanov, with stock market rules then allowing him to make compulsory purchases of all remaining shares. Those fans who lost their shares felt robbed. “I feel disenfranchised, as if I am no longer part of this club,” one fan, Malcolm Davis, told the Arsenal Supporters' Trust. “AFC is no longer my club, but Kroenke’s,” said another.

Arsenal's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke (AFP/Getty)

Arsenal’s new leadership duo share a strong working relationship with Kroenke — Venkatesham stresses that he has “spoken with Josh three or four times already this week” — and both insist that the family’s outright ownership of the club is a positive development. “One thing that is crucial for the good management of a club is stability, and I believe we are in a new stage because we have this full sense of stability now,” says Sanllehí.

“We are talking about a new chapter — and this is part of the new chapter also. There are many dimensions to it and this is another one. I feel very strongly that every time we have interacted with the owners, you get a sense of support and alignment.” Venkatesham agrees. “I don’t know if it is possible to increase their engagement and connection with the club anymore, but they are probably even more connected now than they have ever been.”

While Kroenke Sports & Entertainment’s management of the club is not universally popular, this direct line of communication with Sanllehí and Venkatesham is clearly important. Having moved away from a decidedly autocratic management structure, it is crucial that the many new faces in Arsenal’s revamped executive set-up are pulling in the same direction.