Following Sunday’s trophy parade through the streets of north London, Arsenal CEO Richard Garlick appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme to reflect on the club’s title-winning season, as well as the plans to extend Mikel Arteta’s contract and to keep winning more silverware.

Here’s a transcript of what he had to say…

On how he’s feeling following the weekend…

It was a huge feeling of immense pride. Pride in the team, in Mikel and his staff and the players, but also I think pride across the whole club, everybody involved in Arsenal. You saw the scenes yesterday [Sunday], completely unprecedented. And it’s not just around Islington and North London, it’s stretched across the globe, in Africa and in New York, where the Empire State Building was lit up in red. So, yeah, it’s immense pride, immense pride and satisfaction in winning the Premier League after a 22-year wait.

On how the team have reflected on defeat in Budapest…

After the match, there was obviously disappointment. Losing on penalties is a cruel way of losing any final. But they also recognise the progression that’s been made over the last few years. It’s been a journey; it’s been a long journey. It’s taken a lot of people, a lot of effort, a lot of investment, a lot of emotional investment to get there as well. Everyone is just so proud that all that hard work has paid off. And they’ll look forward, they’ll reflect on that, they’ll be stronger, and there’s a hunger to come back next year to win not just one more trophy but more trophies for now and for a long time in the future.

On why the club were convinced Mikel Arteta was the right man…

I think we all knew that. When I joined the club there was a clear plan, there was a clear process, and [we knew] that process would take time. Our owners are incredibly loyal; they value stability. I think you can see that Arsenal, compared to its rivals, has benefited from that stability over the last three years. In Mikel, you have somebody who’s got a huge desire to win, to better themselves every day. He’s pushing everybody around the club to be better, to improve, to move forward. He’s relentless in that, and I think we all knew that it was going to take a little bit of time to get there, but we would get there in the end. We needed to trust the process, as we used to say. That’s now translated into this fantastic win.

On extending Arteta’s contract…

There’s plenty of work for us to do in the summer moving forward. As a club, our mindset is always forward. If you stand still, you go backwards. Certainly, sitting down with Mikel and agreeing how we’re going to manage this club going forward in the long term is number one. But there’s also going to be further investment in the squad. As I say, we’re not going to sit here and just accept winning one trophy. We want to go on and win major trophies now and in the future.

On whether the club have to keep Mikel Arteta to be successful…

Yes. Our intention is to work with Mikel and build on the club moving forward. As I say, he’s done a fantastic job. He’s great to work with. We want to build something moving forward together and create a real legacy at the club.

On the club’s financial strategy and how it balances the books while strengthening the team…

It’s a combination of different factors. We talk at the club around a strategy of winning financially. We want to generate more revenue so that we can invest it back into the club, both in relation to the playing staff, men’s and women’s teams, the facilities, and to ensure that we’ve got the best possible people and the best possible facilities. It is a challenge, but we’re very fortunate. We’ve got a fantastic global fan base. We’ve got a huge, great stadium. We’re incredibly well supported. In recent times, we’ve partnered with some really excellent companies. I think you can see the quality of the partners that we’ve got, and that continues to grow. It’s a great time to be at Arsenal. It’s a great time to work with Arsenal. It’s a great time to be part of the Arsenal family.

On Arteta changing the club’s connection with fans…

It’s something Mikel felt very strongly about. That support fuels the team. It gives them energy. He wanted to ensure that we had that connection. That connection comes about in a number of different ways. It’s the way we turn up. It’s what we say. It’s how we act. It’s little things like putting on open training at the start of this season, or taking the team over to Asia and developing the fan base over there. Right back to having our own supporter advisory group, engaging with the supporters, being honest, being transparent with them – that’s from Josh Kroenke, who attends a lot of those meetings, to myself. We feel that we need to have a genuine, authentic connection with the fans. I think you saw yesterday the output of that strategy. It was incredible scenes. I’ve never seen anything like it in North London or anywhere else around the world.

On Arsenal Women playing at Emirates Stadium and being central to the club’s long-term growth…

The women’s team has always been at the heart of Arsenal Football Club. We champion women’s football. It’s a key strategic pillar for us. Everybody knows that we want to grow the game. We want to develop the game, so we see ourselves as leaders in that case, where we’re leading from the front. We wanted to play all the matches at the Emirates. We wanted the Emirates to be the home of Arsenal Women’s Football Club. I think you can see that. We averaged around 35,000 fans attending every week [in the WSL] on the women’s team. I think if that translated into the men’s team, we’d be about eighth in the attendance league.

On wanting back-to-back titles…

We’re always looking to go forward. We absolutely want to win more trophies. As I say, it’s a great time for Arsenal Football Club. We’ve got that desire and hunger to defend our title and, as I say, win more trophies in the future.

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You can listen to the full audio of Richard’s interview on BBC Sounds at 02:31:44