Arsene Wenger spoke candidly at the club's Annual General Meeting on Thursday about leaving Arsenal in a good spot when he finally decides to move on and making sure the next boss can hit the ground running.
Wenger, who's current deal expires at the end of the 2016-17 season, is preparing his team's return to Premier League action with a trip to Watford on Saturday following the latest international break.
The 19-year Arsenal boss faced some tough questions from the crowd in attendance, but defended his record in the Champions League and said he's not afraid to spend money if the player's quality demands it.
Wenger said: "I am resolute to commit absolutely until the last day of my contract to bring back big success to this club, and leave as well one day in a position where it can do even better when I leave.
"That is for me very important that I leave the club in the shape that the guy who comes after me can do better.
"The responsibility on my shoulders is much bigger. I know what it means for people. I know how sad people are when we don't do well, I know how sad people are when we lose a game."
Regarding the team's latest Champions League outings -- losing out to Monaco in the round of 16 in 2014-15 and starting this European campaign with losses to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos -- Wenger urged critics to look at the team's results as a whole over the course of his career.
"I agree that the [recent] performances were not good enough. But we have played over 150 games in Europe. You have picked three performances that were not good enough.
"But if you look at the percentages of games won in Europe you will see Arsenal are in the top five. You speak about Monaco, but they lost against Juventus who went onto the final but they never deserved to lose to Juventus. They deserved to beat Juventus.
"I accept you have to be over-critical when the performances are not good, but look at number of games Arsenal played in Champions League before I arrived and look after, and come back to me."
Wenger again heard questions about his reluctance to spend money in the transfer windows -- especially this past summer, when the club had cash in hand. The Frenchman's biggest signing of the summer was luring Petr Cech away from Chelsea in a move that cost a scant £10 million.
"We are not scared to spend the money -- I know I have that reputation. We have shown in the last three years if the player has the quality, we spend the money," he said.