Arsenal director Josh Kroenke believes that many were caught off-guard by the aura that the Gunners still have when it comes to signing players in the transfer market.
Going into the summer, there were rumblings of discontent amongst the Arsenal fans following claims that the club had only around £45m to spend in the transfer window.
Arsenal signed young defender William Saliba from Saint-Etienne before loaning him out to the French club for the rest of the season.
The Gunners also shocked many by beating off competition from several clubs to secure a club-record deal to sign winger Nicolas Pepe from Lille this summer.
They also signed Kieran Tierney and David Luiz from Celtic and Chelsea respectively, and signed Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid for the season; the Gunners added Brazilian talent Gabriel Martinelli too.
Kroenke stressed that Arsenal had clear objectives in the transfer window and despite the lack of Champions League football, he encouraged the team behind the scenes to be aggressive in the market.
He believes many clubs and observers were left shocked by the way Arsenal conducted their business this summer.
Kroenke told the BBC: "I think we had a very strong summer.
“We addressed certain areas on the pitch for this season and in the years ahead. We had certain age profiles that we were after.
“Without Champions League football we weren't exactly sure, but I encouraged our football operations department to be aggressive and when Arsenal Football Club knocks on a player's door it's a different knock.
"This summer, even though we weren't in a position of strength coming out of Baku, I think there were a few people caught off guard that Arsenal Football Club still has the aura that it does.
“We're excited to keep pushing that now and into the future."
Arsenal have won their opening two league games for the first time since the 2009/10 season and hopes are high a top four spot can again be secured.
