According to British tabloids, ex-Arsenal players Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira could be involved in a consortium with the Spotify founder Daniel Ek and make a significant bid to oust Kroenke.
The Gunners, who are owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, have recently found themselves in controversy over their involvement in the Super League project. Arsenal, along with five other English teams Manchester City, Manchester United Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur and six other European elite clubs, had come together to form the controversial tournament. But just 48 hours later, all of the Premier League teams withdrew and apologized to the fans amid a wave of protests outside their respective stadiums.
In an official statement following their withdrawal from the ESL, Arsenal said that they “made a mistake”, and they listened to opinions of a “wider football community”. However, protests continued before Arsenal’s home game against Everton on Friday, with the Gunners faithful demanding the owner’s exit imminently. And with the agonizing 0-1 loss in a decisive game of the league, that anger is unlikely to shift.
Henry, Arsenal’s all-time top scorer, spoke out against Kroenke and his board members following Friday’s protests.
“This club belongs to the fans. I love the club and I will support the club until I die, but I do not recognize my club and what happened just now, with them trying to join a league that would have been closed, makes no sense to me.
Henry said.
“They have been running the club like a company, not a football club, and they showed their hand. Maybe it’s a lack of understanding of the core football values and maybe the money was too big of a temptation. But whatever it was, they got it wrong. Badly wrong.”
the Frenchman added.
But even with the rising discontent among the fans, KSE are extremely unlikely to sell the club for a penny less than its worth. Arsenal are worth just over £2B with annual revenues of £309M and an operating income of £33.8M. In 2007, Stan Kroenke bought a 9.9% stake in Arsenal and the club’s value has witnessed steady revenue reporting 23% profit in the last couple of years. The 73-year-old American also owns NFL club Los Angeles Rams and NBA’s Denver Nuggets.
And on Thursday Josh Kroenke, Stan’s son, refused to answer about their exit saying his family had no intention of selling.
“I’m not willing to answer that question because we have no intention of selling.”
This is where the trio could play a vital role. Their involvement as future shareholders would put pressure on the American’s nonchalant stance. And now that the prospect of the ‘Invincibles’ being involved with Spotify chief Daniel Ek to make a move gains further support.
The Swedish entrepreneur is worth an estimated £3.38bn (Forbes) and his music streaming service Spotify, has seen its growth swell over 350 million subscribers since its release in 2006.
