The Arsenal chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, has described the capture of Lukas Podolski as critical and suggested that the club would have a quiet summer on the transfer market, with the quality of new signings holding sway over the quantity.

Gazidis said little about the future of Robin van Persie, apart from there being an agreement in place to keep all of the discussions private until there was something to announce. There is nothing to say at present and there is unlikely to be while the striker competes at Euro 2012 with Holland.

But as he pledged to give his all to deliver a trophy next season, Gazidis sounded an upbeat note, particularly when it came to Podolski. The Germany striker's signing from Köln for £10.9m was announced at the end of April, representing swift business in a crowded marketplace and Gazidis feels that Arsenal's guaranteed participation in next season's Champions League group phase is another positive. Last time out, there was uncertainty as they faced Udinese in a play-off in August.

"I think the good thing about this summer is that there is more certainty in terms of our Champions League position," Gazidis said. "We have acted early to get the critical signing in Lukas Podolski. Our fans will be able to see him compete at the Euros and see what a very good player he is.

"The great thing about Lukas is that not only can he contribute goals, but he can also play in different positions so you get tremendous versatility and Arsenal class. He is technically a top-class player and that was a good early addition for us.

"The key for us is not the volume of signings we might make but that the signings we make add something to the squad. That is something Arsène [Wenger] thinks extremely carefully about and for all of the pressure he is placed under, he tends to make good decisions."

Gazidis reflected upon a "challenging" season, when Arsenal diced with disaster before pulling together to finish third in the Premier League. But he accepted that the "creditable performance" was not a cause for "popping champagne corks" because everybody, from the majority shareholder Stan Kroenke downwards, wanted to win things. Arsenal have not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2005.

"We want to win major competitions," Gazidis said. "We want to win the Premier League. We want to compete to win the Champions League. That is our ambition. My message to our fans is that we are doing everything in our power to make sure that Arsenal can challenge for trophies next year.

"That is what this summer is about and that is what we are focused on for next year. We have a good team, we have a good young core of players and we need everybody involved to have belief so that we can push forward into next year and make a run at the Premier League trophy and for the Champions League. We believe we can do that."