Usmanov out as Kroenke takes control of Arsenal

ALISHER USMANOV delivered a parting shot to Stan Kroenke yesterday after finally conceding defeat in the 11-year battle for Arsenal, claiming that a club now heading for sole private ownership for the first time in their modern history “could be the best in the world”.

Kroenke has described his planned £602m outlay on buying the remaining Arsenal shares as a “new chapter” for the Gunners, but concerns were raised last night over the deal.

Many fans are upset at how Kroenke, who will pay

£550 million for Usmanov’s 30 per cent stake, then intends to exercise a legal option to complete the compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares.

That will mean individual supporters being obliged to sell their stake and the club no longer being a public limited company.

The deal values Arsenal at £1.8 billion, compared to

£731 million when Kroenke last made a takeover offer in 2011.

In the offer statement, Kroenke confirmed that he would then re-register Arsenal as a private company and argued that it would allow the club to move more quickly in pursuing its strategy. He pointed to how 18 out of the 20 Premier League clubs were now privately owned.

Arsenal were once known as the “Bank of England” club amid a post-war ownership history that largely passed through the Bracewell-Smith and Hill-Wood families.

Many fans are concerned that it will mean less transparency, with the annual general meeting expected to cease and accounts to be published less frequency.

The absence of another sizeable shareholder would also mean that Kroenke could make structural changes to the company, but he has stressed that he wants to keep the current board, continue to channel heavy investment in the team and infrastructure and consistently challenge to win the biggest trophies in football.