A couple of separate people opined to me that this year’s Arsenal Holdings AGM felt a bit different. One ventured that Arsene Wenger didn’t have his normal enthusiasm when delivering his speech to the shareholders (and 45 Fanshare members that were successful in the ballot to attend). Another described the whole thing as ‘low key’.

Ivan Gazidis made great play of the club’s motto being Forward Arsenal. And undoubtedly, off the field, developments are taking place to move the club in the right direction. However, a perk of AGMs past was for the shareholders to get their picture taken with whatever silverware had been won in the months before. This however, is the fifth consecutive AGM without a trophy, so shareholders were offered a stadium tour instead.

There is a feeling that we’re treading water at the moment, as far as the team is concerned. Wenger acknowledged that when Arsenal concede the first goal in big games, they rarely bounce back to win. Which indicates that defence is worthy of more attention than perhaps it receives in reality. ‘We are working very hard’ in that area, he said, relaying that you can concede no more than 28 goals if you want to win the title. He believes that the team this season is ‘more stable defensively’ (last year 42 goals were conceded in the 38 Premier League matches). This time out, 10 goals have been conceded in 8 matches. The writing is on the wall. The manager also indicated that he would only leave his role at the club if he felt physically not up to it, as he would always have the desire to do the job. So unless the board call time on him, he’s leaving in a coffin. So much for the idea of football director at Paris St Germain then.

The club is successful financially, the self-sustainabilty model an example to others. Liverpool’s potential buyers were shown around Arsenal’s stadium rather than Anfield, as an example of what that club aspire to. However, there is a great deal of reliance on the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules kicking in to close the gap on those clubs subsidized by rich owners. I find this rather a naïve idea. All Roman Abramovich has to do is set a ridiculously high price for his executive boxes and sell them to one of his companies, and Chelsea’s income can be pretty much what they want it to be for UEFA’s purposes. There are myriad other ways of creating ‘income’. Nothing’s going to change in that regard. Can Arsenal compete with clubs who attempt to buy success? Manchester United managed to prevent Chelsea making a clean sweep of the domestic board between 2007 and 2009. It can be done, but it takes a mixture of the right players, the right tactics, the right mentality, balance between youth and experience, defence and attack, a manageable injury list and just a bit of luck. Currently Arsenal are falling short, but the message from the board and the manager is that we are not far away.

A year ago, Wenger was convinced his team would win a trophy. This time around, he is saying the team will go for it in all competitions. So at least, in theory, that doubles the chances of silverware. A strong team will be fielded in the Carling Cup at Newcastle next week, although probably not Cesc Fabregas.

Peter Hill-Wood managed to hold it together this year, with less bumbling than is customary. All the directors were present except for Lord Harris of Peckham, who had another engagement he couldn’t get out of. Aside from the chairman, the only other director to speak was Ivan Gazidis. Danny Fiszman was there, but it is unquestionable that his illness has taken its toll. He looked gaunt and not his old self. And no wonder after what he has been through. The ownership status of the club may be regarded as one of stability, but looking at Danny, thoughts led to the fate of his shareholding should his condition worsen. Presumably, his children will inherit it. What they would do with the shares is anyone’s guess. If Alisher Usmanov bought them and then stumped up for Lady Nina’s chunk, life at the club would change dramatically.

There was a question about Arsene Wenger being invited onto the board, but it was confirmed in the response that in the eight board meetings held each year he is invariably in attendance anyway. On the football side, he is pretty much running the club, so is effectively a board member anyway. The nature of his position means that nothing’s going to change soon. We’ll have more of the same in 12 months’ time with regard to matters on the field, although whether the line-up in the boardroom is the same remains to be seen. Some of the directors mixed with shareholders over tea and biscuits three years ago. That turned out to be a one-off, which is a bit of a shame. The accounts reveal the club is in rude health, but Gazidis emphasised that the priority was winning on the field rather than making profit. Could someone please tell the manager?