There is only one member of the Arsenal squad Josh Kroenke ‘often’ speaks to

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The Kroenkes have become more hands-on at Arsenal in recent years, which is good news for Mikel Arteta.

It wasn’t long ago that Arsenal fans protested against Stan Kroenke’s ownership of the club.

Disputes happened as a period of mediocrity became acceptable at Arsenal, but such has been abolished in recent years thanks to Arteta’s project.

The Spaniard has implemented a higher standard at the Emirates, announcing Arsenal as real contenders for the Premier League title in 2022/23. 

Fortunately, the Kroenkes have followed suit, allowing for greater expenditure in the transfer windows, as seen this year, as Andrea Berta was granted permission to splash £257m. 

• READ MORE: Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke’s past £600m decision signals he would U-turn on Josh Kroenke vow

Josh Kroenke often speaks to Declan Rice

Aside from financially supporting Arsenal’s needs, the Kroenkes have been more on hand to support Arteta and the club’s hierarchy.

It’s predominantly Josh Kroenke who has been keeping up appearances, being Arsenal’s non-executive director, hired by his father.

Kroenke helped Arsenal get the deal for Eberechi Eze over the line, understanding the benefits of adding the Englishman to Arteta’s squad, putting finances aside.

It’s not only on the transfer front that Josh is supporting Arsenal, as he’s also become closer to the squad, one member in particular.

The Athletic compiled a piece about the Kroenkes at Arsenal, where Josh’s stance on communicating with the squad was revealed. 

Despite noting that Josh isn’t ‘overly close’ with the Arsenal players, he does ‘often exchange messages’ with Declan Rice.

The reason? Golf.

Rice shares a ‘passion for golf’ with Josh, something they often discuss, but that’s about as far as personal communication with the squad goes.

It’s mentioned that players don’t receive messages after good performances from the club’s non-executive director; however, Josh did make the effort to message each member of the squad who had qualified for the 2022 World Cup. 

Rice symbolised a power shift on Arsenal’s transfer front

Rice’s love for golf sees him hold a slightly closer relationship to Josh than others in the squad, but that’s not the only reason the Kroenkes must admire the Englishman.

Signing the midfielder from West Ham in 2023 felt like a turning point for Arsenal’s owners, who beat competition to the £105m transfer, capturing one of the Premier League’s best.

It was a rarity for Arsenal to be the ones benefiting from other Premier League clubs’ best player, and the nine-figure gamble has certainly paid off.

What is rarer is a big-money transfer paying off without question in the Premier League, with Rice arguably being the only player exceeding the £100m mark to instantly impress in the English top flight.

Rice has undoubtedly made Arsenal better, proving to the ownership that, in some instances, loosening the pursestrings is essential.