Arsenal are downplaying the prospect of a bid for the club from an unnamed Middle Eastern consortium, saying that no one has been in contact with either the club or majority shareholder Stan Kroenke. They are also dismissive of the idea that Kroenke would sell which make sense. He doesn’t need the money and turned down an offer for his American franchises two years ago.
Arsenal are downplaying the prospect of a bid for the club from an unnamed Middle Eastern consortium, saying that no one has been in contact with either the club or majority shareholder Stan Kroenke. They are also dismissive of the idea that Kroenke would sell which make sense. He doesn’t need the money and turned down an offer for his American franchises two years ago.
Others have dismissed the offer as inflated and made in ignorance of the constraints of Uefa’s financial fair play regime. However, that does not mean that it is not credible. Someone took the trouble to brief leading newspapers and they are hardly likely to have done that just to make mischief.
The new £5 billion TV contract that starts next season has attracted the attention of a new group of foreign investors. But they will be looking to make money out of any deals, rather than pump in funds on the scale of Chelsea or Manchester City. The era of the trophy investor seeking prestige is probably over.
As for Arsenal, with the chances of Champions League qualification receding, the ball is back in the board’s court. In particular, ‘silent’ Stan Kroenke needs to be more visible and hands on. Resassuring noises are being made about money to be made available for transfers and wages in the summer. However, whether that would be affected by a failure to qualify for the Champions League is unclear.