Arsenal takeover will deliver ‘£2.5bn profit’ for Stan Kroenke one day, says expert

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Arsenal are a club transformed on and off the pitch and if Stan Kroenke sold them tomorrow, says Kieran Maguire, they would likely fetch around £3.5bn.

“He would make a very tidy return,” the University of Liverpool football finance lecturer said in exclusive conversation with Arsenal Insider.

“He has addressed the problems at the club. Initially, they didn’t have a strategy to make them popular commercially. But it’s noticeable that commercial revenue has doubled since 2019. They have increased prices, which has led to huge increases in matchday and commercial income. That has been without any major silverware, so they deserve a lot of credit.”

To date, Mikel Arteta’s time in the dugout has yielded only the FA Cup, but the League Cup final against Manchester City awaits on Sunday. Arsenal are also favourites in both the Premier League and, after last night’s 2-0 victory over German champions Bayer Leverkusen secured passage to the quarter-finals, the Champions League too.

As well as the football strategy of Arteta, the club’s revival on the pitch in recent seasons owes a lot to Stan Kroenke’s funding. Through no-interest loans, the 78-year-old billionaire has given the club about £340m, which has underwritten Arsenal’s financial losses.

But those losses are shrinking. In the 2024-25 accounts released at the end of February, the Gunners posted a deficit of just £1.4m and a cash outflow of £24m.

With commercial and matchday revenue booming at the Emirates Stadium, the club are moving towards a break-even point on an operating basis, reducing the demands on Kroenke for external funding.

The knock-on effect will, according to Maguire, be felt on the market’s valuation of the club.

In their annual list of the world’s richest people, ‘Silent Stan’ was recently ranked by Forbes as just outside the top 100 with a net worth equivalent to £17bn at today’s exchange rate.

But how much of that worth is wrapped up in Arsenal, the club who have cost Kroenke about £1bn so far?

“The club now looks far more appealing to an external investor,” said Maguire.

“If Kroenke was ever interested in selling, he would make a huge profit. He will be looking at a £2-2.5bn profit at least.

“A sale at £3.5bn is lower than Man United but higher than Chelsea. They have got the highest yield per fan in the Premier League and can probably extend that further.

“The intrigue is what is going to happen with the Emirates Stadium expansion. Will it be steady Eddie or will they go for something more glamorous? That will be very expensive, but Kroenke did with the SoFi Stadium. He can afford it.”