LONDON • Arsenal director Josh Kroenke admits criticism from furious fans has been "hard to take", but he insists the club's owners will stick to their guns.

Arsenal supporters' organisations, fanzines and blogs published a statement on Monday hitting out at Stan Kroenke's "passive ownership" in response to their team's latest frustrating campaign.

The Gunners are preparing for a third successive season out of the Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League and losing the Europa League final to London rivals Chelsea.

Kroenke senior's company took outright ownership of the club in August last year and Josh Kroenke, son of the Arsenal owner Stan, addressed the supporters' complaints during the current pre-season tour of the United States.

"As much as we would love to say that we'll be competing for the top trophies tomorrow, we know that that's not the case and that we have to get to work on that," he said.

"Is it hard to take? Absolutely. But I'm not in this business to make friends, I'm in it to win.

"If anyone is ever going to question anything about our ownership - which I view as a custodianship, the supporters trust us to be a custodian of the values - that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to win while also respecting the values and traditions of the club.

"I've sat down with supporters' groups. I've not been afraid to sit down to have tough conversations because we're transparent, we don't have anything to hide.

"We all want the same thing and we're all trying aggressively to make it happen."

He is also convinced they will eventually restore the Gunners to the club's former glories.

"It's no secret that we have a Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget right now. That's a fact. And one that we're figuring out how to face internally at the moment," he said.

"That doesn't mean that my father or I have ever said anything about any restrictions on spending. We know where we need to be and we know the areas we need to address on the pitch.

"It's not whom you buy, it's how you buy. While we're not going to be in the market for some of the top players in the world at the moment, we're actively scouting the globe to find the next big thing."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN