Arsenal owner Josh Kroenke watched on as his team played out their final match of the season away at Southampton.
The Gunners, having already secured Champions League qualification, were far from their intense best in every action at Saint Mary’s.
Despite that, goals from Kieran Tierney and Martin Odegaard managed to ensure that Arsenal beat Southampton for their last three points of the season.
In all, it meant that Arsenal finished in second place in the Premier League for a third consecutive season, with some changes needed to get Mikel Arteta over the line.
With that in mind, the Arsenal boss may well have sent his biggest message to the owners yet with his recent decision.
Mikel Arteta sent a clear transfer message to Josh Kroenke with Arsenal team selection
Mikel Arteta named a much-changed Arsenal team for the clash with Southampton, rotating the side heavily.
Some changes were enforced, such as William Saliba’s injury forcing him out, along with Jurrien Timber’s surgery.
However, in some areas, it could be argued that the Arsenal boss was sending something of a transfer message to Josh Kroenke.
The pair sat next to each other in the stands, due to Arteta’s touchline ban, watching on as the Gunners struggled to break down the worst team in the Premier League.
A start for Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri may well point towards the lack of depth and quality in the team.
With a tight win secured, with the help of some of their star players off the bench, it’s clear that Arsenal cannot rely on their wider squad as it stands.
That, in itself, may be a clear transfer message to Kroenke that investment is needed, quality in depth is needed, and more goals are needed.
What Mikel Arteta told Josh Kroenke during the Arsenal match with Southampton
Arteta is set to have some big conversations with the Arsenal owners and the rest of the hierarchy over the future of the squad and what work needs to be done in the transfer window.
While some speculated that there could have been those discussions at Saint Mary’s on Sunday, the manager revealed that wasn’t the case.
He told the press about the discussions with Josh Kroenke: “He knows the sport so well, much better than me.
“We’ll have enough time in the next few days to discuss the topics that probably you are suspecting, and we’ll do it in the right environment. Today was just about the game.”
It remains to be seen how those conversations will go, but Arsenal will need everyone on the same page to move forward.
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