I will admit, I’m beginning to feel a little apprehensive over the future of Arsenal football club.
I had always hoped that we could have avoided a foreign takeover. We looked stable enough to finance ourselves individually, and I don’t think anyone would disagree when I see we could have carried on.
But in reality, this scenario always seemed doubtful. In the modern world of football, it was inevitable that something like this was going to happen eventually. And now it has, I don’t really know what to think. So I’ll do myself a favour, by taking the easy option and sit on the fence here.
Arsene Wenger has come out and said that Stan Kroenke has his backing, stating the American has “the best interests of the club at heart”. The Frenchman also said “I have worked with Stan Kroenke at board meetings. He understands the club’s heritage and our ambition to run the club in a way which protects our long term future”.
Of course, it’s promising to see Arsene backing the American business entrepreneur.
However, I won’t believe Arsene is fully behind the deal. But who can blame him? If you’re getting a new boss, the last thing you are going to do is to say something that’s going to get yourself in a bad situation.
I just pray that this deal is a step forward for the club.
We’ve seen many takeovers in the Premier League this century – all of which have caused major moans from the club’s fans and members of the boardroom – or both. Naturally, it’s a little too early to speculate too much on everything. Obviously, the deal still has to go through officially.
A large section of the road ahead will remain unclear, due to the foggy conditions that have been created by the lack of communication and absence of explanation from “Silent Stan”.
Worryingly, sources close to the club have suggested that he’s only “in it for the money”. The fact that he remained silent at the AGM in 2009, refusing to answer questions from shareholders regarding his future business with Arsenal FC. Like some of you I’m sure, I am not exactly filled with confidence.
With a man who keeps all of his cards close to chest, you should expect frustrating times ahead. The tight-lipped Kroenke will release very little information to the public, which suggests we won’t know exactly what he’s up to, until after it’s happened – just like we’ve seen for this particular takeover deal.
Whatever the future holds for Arsenal FC, it’s certainly been a pleasure growing up watching us dominate the game when football was a sport, rather than a business.
Don’t get me wrong, this could be one of the most pivotal weeks in our history. But only time will tell, whether it is a positive move or not…
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