Arsenal AGM... Ivan Gazidis says club are aiming to compete with likes of Real Madrid but that what's needed is patience - but haven't the fans heard it all before?

 The waiting game came to an end for Arsenal supporters at Wembley in May. Aaron Ramsey's extra-time goal saw the Gunners lift their first trophy since 2005.

Thousands of supporters lined the streets of north London to hail Arsene Wenger's heroes 24 hours later during a triumphant open-top bus parade.

There was a feeling of adulation on Upper Street that Sunday as fans celebrated the end of their much-hyped trophy drought, but there was another strong vibe in the air that day.

Aaron Ramsey is mobbed by his Arsenal team-mates after scoring the winner against Hull in the FA Cup final 

The streets of north London are lined by Arsenal fans as they celebrate their club's FA Cup triumph in 2014 

A sense that this was merely the beginning; the start of a period of dominance from another Wenger-led Arsenal team. But five months later, Gooners are again being asked to be patient.

Everything is in place for a prosperous future at the Emirates Stadium. The club's self-sustainable financial structure is starting to have a significant impact in the new world of Financial Fair Play.

But speaking ahead of Thursday's Annual General Meeting, chief executive Ivan Gazidis remained cautious.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal's Annual General Meeting, Ivan Gazidis said the club are aiming to be held in the same esteem as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich and the rest of Europe's elite 

'Where we are currently is off the shoulder of the world's top teams. I think the best teams in the world are in Europe and you think about the great names in world football like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich - I don't think we're at that level yet but that's where we're aiming to get to,' said the Gunners supremo.

'It's one thing to say that and it's another thing to be able to deliver it. It has been incredibly frustrating not being able to be where we want to be these last few years, so winning the FA Cup was a fantastic moment.

'(But) I don't come out of that feeling satisfied like we've achieved what we need to achieve. The hunger for success is immediate. The moment you get away from that euphoria of the moment, the next question is, "How do we have more of that?" 

Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez arrived at Arsenal in the summer for a combined fee of £46million 

'That's what everybody at this club is focused on. There's no satisfaction in it - it's what do we do now.'

When Gazidis' most recent comments were issued earlier this week, it must have felt like Groundhog Day for some fans; it's a message Arsenal supporters have become accustomed to in recent years. The message that the club are working hard to enter Europe's elite, but still not quite there.

Recent big-money signings such as Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck have helped placate some disgruntled fans. But others remain doubtful that their club can replicate Wenger's glory years.

Here, Sportsmail takes you on a trip down memory lane, looking at some of Gazidis' previous soundbites - and how they all have a similar theme: patience.

Mesut Ozil joined the Gunners for a club record fee in the summer of 2013, but has failed to hit his top form 

 

On the day Arsenal were due to meet Birmingham in the League Cup final - which they lost - Gazidis spoke of the sacrifices the club were making to ensure Arsenal's future success.

FEBRUARY 2011: 'Some of the decisions we need to make looking forward will impact the manager adversely in the short term, but 10, 15 even 20 years from now, the decisions will make sure this club moves forward. 

'Winning is important, but it's not the end objective of everything, the end objective is the emotional connection our fans have with this club. The end objective is the creation of pride, one of the aspects that creates pride is winning trophies and that's essential for a club our size, but the way we conduct ourselves, the way we play, all these things are important.

'It's right and proper that we are expected to win trophies regularly, and I welcome that pressure, that kind of pressure is good.'

Arsenal were beaten by Birmingham in the 2011 League Cup final after Obafemi Martins scored the winner 

 

In the aftermath of Arsenal's infamous 8-2 loss at Manchester United, Gazidis insisted the club would emerge from the stronger after a difficult few months which saw Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy quit the club. The belief that better days were ahead was a key theme.

SEPTEMBER 2011: 'We are going through a difficult period like all clubs do, it's a cycle and we will work our way out of it. We understand some of the emotions the fans have been through, we understand the expectations are high and we share those expectations, that's where we are in the game - other clubs would be delighted to be in our overall position. 

'We are in healthy and strong position, we've had 14 years of success in the Champions League. When I came in two-and-a-half years ago I was told we were falling behind Aston Villa and Everton. The reality is we are in a strong position to look forward with confidence and standing on our own two feet, with a strong sustainable model built around youth development; we've got strong youth players coming through - not just Jack Wilshere. 

Arsene Wenger can't bring himself to watch the game as Arsenal are humiliated by Manchester United 

The Old Trafford outfit ran out 8-2 winners against Arsenal. It was one of the club's worst-ever defeats 

'Our transfer strategy remains developing young players and turning them into star players, but we have sprinkled that with experience players. It'll take a bit of time for those players to settle but we'll have a strong squad. You can't replace a Fabregas, one of the best players in the world and there's not an unlimited number of those.

'We are focused to continue to move forward as a club. If we spent every single penny we had in every transfer window, we would end up make some bad decisions.'

 

Ahead of the 2012 season, Gazidis again spoke about the club's ability to compete with Europe's elite clubs… in the future, of course.

JUNE 2012: 'We want to win major competitions. We want to win the Premier League. We want to compete to win the Champions League. That is our ambition. 

'My message to our fans is that we are doing everything in our power to make sure that Arsenal can challenge for trophies next year. That is what this summer is about and that is what we are focused on for next year. 

'We have a good team, we have a good young core of players and we need everybody involved to have belief so that we can push forward into next year and make a run at the Premier League trophy and for the Champions League. We believe we can do that.

Gazidis has spoken about Arsenal's ability to compete with some of Europe's best clubs, albeit in the future 

 

And there was more of the same from Gazidis five months later.

NOVEMBER 2012: 'As we look to the next two, three years we will have an outstanding platform on which to compete with any club in the world. Now we are in that stadium, the first part of our vision has been realised. Now we are at the stage where some of the commercial deals that were tied into the construction of the stadium, and enabled us to take that first big step, will be renegotiated. When that happens, we will take the second big step forward and that will be comparable in magnitude to moving to the stadium itself. 

'At times it's been a challenging project, but we will have catapulted ourselves into the elite clubs on the European scale and that, for us, has been what the last 10 years has been about.

'Very clearly, it will push the club forward and put us into the top five clubs in the world in revenue terms, which will be a fantastic position to be in.'

The Arsenal boards addresses its audience at the 2011 Annual General Meeting at the Emirates Stadium  

 

Still without a trophy, Gazidis returned with a familiar message at the end of the 2012/13 season.

JUNE 2013: 'So obviously we have come to the end of the season and in the end we finished with 73 points and in fourth place which I would say was necessary for us. We want to be competing at the top of the game and in order to do that you have to be in the Champions League. So we are pleased to qualified, or at least, for the qualification games. 

'But it is not ultimately where we want to be with moving the club forward. We want to be a club that is competing at the very top end of the game and that means competing to win the Premier League and competing to win the Champions League. On that basis, we are not where we want to be yet.

'I think its not idle ambition when we talk about wanting to get there. I think we have a very solid plan that will give us the ability to be able to compete at that level provided we do things well. The critical thing now as we look ahead over the next season and the season after is our developing financial capability which will give us a lot more options than in recent years.'

 

We wait with baited breath to see what Gazidis plans to say at Thursday's AGM. More of the same, perhaps? 

Jack Wilshere reflects on Arsenal's defeat at Chelsea - they are already nine points behind their rivals