The changes that have been implemented at Arsenal will not bear fruit overnight, it will take time and patience but the signs are there that the club is on the right road.
Even a loss Saturday evening to Liverpool will not alter the progress that Arsenal is making, it will, of course, be a short term disappointment but that is all it will be.
The club has changed almost everything from the manager to the structure and strategy and by any standards that is a major undertaking.
Already this summer we have seen the way the club is now conducting its transfer business, no kneejerk signings, areas strengthened that were weak, no silly headline signings for the sake of it. Every signing had a purpose and that includes loaning William Saliba back to St Etienne for a season.
Of course, if Unai Emery fails to get the club into the Champions League that will be a huge hit but he has been provided with the tools to accomplish that task and if he fails then he will be replaced by a coach that can deliver. It will not change the route the club is taking though.
This is a long term project that Josh Kroenke is heading up, he has put very capable people into all the important positions and therefore got the fundamentals right, it will be personal failings and not a structural problem if the club fails to achieve its targets this season.
A win over Liverpool will be glorious for sure but it will not of all of a sudden turn Arsenal into title contenders and a loss will not mean that Champions League football is unlikely either, it simply means that the work the club is undertaking is not yet complete.