Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 6y

Stan Kroenke's Arsenal takeover 'absolutely disastrous' - Ian Wright

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has said it would be "absolutely disastrous" for Stan Kroenke to get total ownership of the club.

Wright said he is worried that American billionaire Kroenke cares more about money than winning trophies, and that Arsenal will no longer be able to compete for top trophies with him running the club.

"I can sum up the prospect of Stan Kroenke becoming the sole owner of Arsenal in two words -- absolutely disastrous," Wright wrote in his column for The Sun. "And if, as seems highly likely, that does become the case, I genuinely fear the days of seeing the Gunners challenging for top honours on a regular basis may well have come and gone."

Kroenke announced on Tuesday that he has reached an agreement with minority shareholder Alisher Usmanov to buy up the Russian's 30 percent stake. That will in turn also allow him to force the remaining smaller shareholders to sell their shares, giving him 100 percent ownership of the club.


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Wright slammed Kroenke for remaining "in the shadows" ever since he became the majority owner in 2011 and said he only does "what's best for himself and not really anyone else."

"The genuine worry -- and it's a very, very real worry -- is that now, more than ever before, it will be about getting money through Arsenal, not for them," Wright wrote. "The problem I have is he simply doesn't seem to care. Not in the same way the fans, those of us who really love the club, do."

Wright also said the situation puts more pressure on new head coach Unai Emery to deliver success on the pitch, as the club isn't doing enough on the transfer market to strengthen the team.

"I just hate what's happening. It tears me apart, because right now we are nowhere near challenging for the top honours in football," he wrote. "We're left hoping and praying that new manager Unai Emery's coaching ability will get us through, or I really do fear for us. And to put so much onus on a man who is still getting to know everyone's name, let alone what they can do, has to be a worry."

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