Stan Kroenke is believed to have made an offer to Alisher Usmanov for his 30% stake in Arsenal Football Club, and the reaction from fans has been to urge the Uzbekistan-born Russian to refuse to sell.
Controversially I believe this could actually bring a positive change, although the obvious doubts are of course warranted.
Yes we have seen our club fail to invest properly into our club in recent years when it comes to the transfer market, but maybe this move by Kroenke is all about timing.
Arsenal are set for an exciting and risky time, with Arsene Wenger nearing the end of his reign, and that change is going to be huge in which direction the club goes in.
Once Wenger leaves, the club will be forced to reanalyze their whole identity, and will ultimately have to decide whether they want to be viewed as a big club or not. Our club’s first target will be to hire the correct man to continue on from the Frenchman, but in the meantime the squad will have to be strong enough to be deserving of a place in the top four, and with the right man in charge, hopefully break our 13 year wait for a Premier League trophy.
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are also forcing our club’s hand this year, and we nearly bit the bullet and sold on deadline day in the summer, only for our number one target to change his mind about joining.
Kroenke’s move to takeover the club amidst all this uncertainty may well be due to his intention to spend big in the coming years in the transfer market, in order to secure the future of the club, and to assure himself of all the rewards of such a splurge.
Usmanov hasn’t been allowed a place on the board and could well give up his shareholding stake, but with such a rivalry between the two, Silent Stan could well be willing to increase his spending once Alisher surrenders his ownership rights.
Is it possible to foresee a bigger investment from Stan if he owned the club outright? Could the Usmanov rivalry be holding our club back?
Pat J