Arsene Wenger has admitted that this summer's transfer window didn't work out the way he had planned, but denied that his late deal for striker Lucas Perez was a panic buy.
Arsenal are on the verge of completing a double signing for Perez, the Deportivo La Coruna forward, and Valencia centre-back Shkodran Mustafi after seeing a breakthrough in negotiations in recent days.
Those deals would fulfil Wenger's pledge to bring in three new first-team players this summer, including a striker and centre-back, after also buying holding midfielder Granit Xhaka in May.
However, that early deal for Xhaka was followed by a frustrating summer as Arsenal failed with a bid to bring in Jamie Vardy from Leicester and saw their interest in several other forwards come to naught.
"This season I thought we had the easiest transfer market ever because we knew what we wanted to [buy], we knew who we wanted, and it didn't come off," Wenger said. "So you have to restart, and when you restart, when you [deal] with some leagues they're on holiday. And after you get the European Championship."
While Wenger didn't disclose which deals "didn't come off," he was reportedly hoping to strike an agreement with Real Madrid over forward Alvaro Morata and also made a bid for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette.
Wenger also disclosed that he tried to find club executives at Euro 2016 games to discuss transfers, when he was working as a pundit for French TV at the tournament.
"Nothing happened during the whole European Championship, you couldn't find anybody. Here and there I met some people in the VIP rooms before the games, but it's not the best place to deal," he said. "That's why it was very late [before deals were finalised]. It's not ideal for us, but..."
Perez scored 17 league goals last season and added eight assists but was still relatively unknown to many fans in England before Arsenal's interest emerged on Thursday. But Wenger rejected the notion that he had acted out of desperation to snap up a striker who was available because of a £17 million release clause.
"Look at my face. Am I the face of somebody who does a panic buy?" a relaxed Wenger said in a briefing with reporters. "No, I try to make the [right] decision. But you will see how many transfers will happen in the next three or four days. It will be amazing. Maybe the biggest amount ever."
At 27, Perez has yet to be capped by Spain and has never played Champions League football. But Wenger said he has flourished after being converted to a striker late in his career.
"He's a late developer because he played in a different position. He moved centrally and in a successful way," Wenger said. "So I think he has good linkup qualities, good quality of receptions, good finishing qualities. But let's see if we can finish the job."