Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has admitted to a fans’ forum that the club "isn’t in the place we want to be".
Gazidis says he wants Arsenal to be fighting for the Premier League title and is "convinced" they can get back to that level.
The Arsenal CEO and head of football relations Raul Sanllehi addressed supporters at a forum ahead of Sunday’s 3-0 win at home to Watford.
It was a regularly scheduled event but came after a tough few weeks for the club, who are in sixth, 12 points behind the top four – although they are still in the Europa League and won 2-0 in their round-of-16 first leg at AC Milan last week.
Recent poor results have led to renewed speculation about the long-term future of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who signed a new two-year deal at the end of last season.
The issue was raised at the forum, but Gazidis would not be drawn on the issue and said it was not the right time to discuss the matter.
Gazidis did admit the club "isn’t in the place we want to be" and confirmed his desire "to compete and win the league".
He pointed out that there have been a lot of changes and investment behind the scenes and that he was "absolutely convinced we can return" to title contention.