Stan buyout will ‘neuter’ Arsenal fans
STAN KROENKE stands accused of trying to gag Arsenal fans. But it is Unai Emery who may end up paying the price.
If Emery thought it would be all plain sailing when he took the Arsenal job in May he can think again.
Yesterday’s surprise news that long-term investor Alisher Usmanov is throwing in the towel in his long battle with Kroenke has changed the landscape at the Emirates.
Arsenal had felt like a club slowly tearing itself apart in the later years of Arsene Wenger’s reign with fan protests, planes carrying ‘Wenger Out’ banners and unrest in the stands.
That was supposed to end with the Frenchman finally gone and Emery representing a new face to get behind. Not any more. Arsenal fans are outraged at the £550million deal in which Kroenke will buy out Usmanov’s 30 per cent shareholding, giving him more than the 90 per cent stake required to purchase the remaining shares in the club.
And there is already talk of a fresh wave of protests – this time aimed at the reclusive American billionaire, who has long been a hate figure for many.
Kroenke wants to take Arsenal private but has had to borrow heavily to purchase his old enemy’s stake, and fans now fear a lack of transparency.
In a statement, the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust said the news marked “a dreadful day” for the club. It read: “Stan Kroenke taking the club private will see the end of supporters owning shares in Arsenal and their role upholding custodianship values.
“The most dreadful part of this announcement is the news that Kroenke plans to forcibly purchase the shares held by Arsenal fans.
“Many of these fans are AST members and hold their shares not for value but as custodians who care for the future of the club. Kroenke’s actions will neuter their voice and involvement.
“The AST is wholly against this takeover. Arsenal remains too important to be owned by any one person.” Only last year Usmanov, an Uzbek-born Russian billionaire and former sabre fencer, offered £1billion to buy out Kroenke and it remains unclear why he has finally decided to lay down his sword.
Those close to him deny in the strongest terms that he intends to join his former business partner Farhad Moshiri at Everton.
Others claim this is another case of a wealthy Russian taking his money out of the UK in the wake of the recent tensions between the two nations.
It all adds up to a renewed air of uncertainty at Arsenal, with doubts too about the future of chief executive Ivan Gazidis, who has received an offer from AC Milan.
More fan unrest is the last thing Emery needs as he tries to follow the greatest manager in Arsenal’s history.
And supporters will no doubt be concerned that this buy-out could have a knock-on effect on transfer budgets.
It also means that once Kroenke is in full control, he can do away with those uncomfortable annual general meetings where fans have voiced their discontent.
But if he thinks that will silence the most vocal of his critics, he could be in for a shock.