Unai Emery believes Arsenal were in decline towards the end of Arsène Wenger’s 22-year reign and “had to change things”.

The club failed to finish in the top four for the first time under Wenger in his final two campaigns, a situation Emery believes was down to losing the “defensive structure”.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca, Arsenal’s head coach said: “I met once with him, and little else. I respect him a lot but no matter how much info he gave me, I had to change things. I told the players: ‘We started at kilometre zero.’ Even now, four months later, I still say it: ‘We are in the beginning!’”

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Emery feels Arsenal lost sight of a key aspect during Wenger’s closing seasons. “Before Wenger arrived, Arsenal celebrated the 1-0 [win] and was based on defensive solidity. Then with Arsène, joy was turned into attack, with players of good standing, and the perfect combination was the Invincibles,” he said in reference to the club winning the Premier League unbeaten in 2004.

“But over time, only technical quality and offensive freedom were taken care of, and the team lost the defensive structure. What I want is to unite both essences and be more competitive. The Arsenal was in decline. We had to stop it and start climbing.”

Arsenal go to Bournemouth on Sunday unbeaten in 16 matches in all competitions. “The Premier League is our priority, and our objective in terms of the table is to finish in the top four,” Emery told Arsenal’s website.

“The club wants to return to Europe’s top club competition, which is the Champions League, and we have two opportunities by which to do that – one is the Premier League and the other is the Europa League.”