Arsenal’s current owner Stan Kroenke has been pretty unpopular with the fans. That is, since taking over at the Emirates Stadium. It seems that the relationship between the American billionaire businessman and the fanbase has reached the lowest possible point. Lack of investment in the first-team squad, coupled with poor returns on the pitch over the years in comparison to their Premier League rivals, has made the Gunners faithful question the ambitions of Kroenke in the past. To make things worse, Arsenal made a statement last week that they were set to be one of the 12 founding members of the European Super League.
Despite the fact that the club backed down from it amid massive pressure from the worldwide football fans, several hundred Arsenal fans protested outside the Emirates Stadium. That was before the team’s English Premier League match against Everton on Friday. It was to call for owner Stan Kroenke to sell the club.
Arsenal’s owners do not plan to sell the Premier League club despite the intense backlash following their involvement in the breakaway European Super League as per Kroenke himself. There are speculations that there are suitors interested in the North London club.
Here we take a look at two of the potential buyers of the north London giants, Arsenal-
1. Daniel Ek:
The co-founder and CEO of Swedish audio streaming and media services provider Spotify, Daniel Ek has expressed his interest in buying the club he supports. Arsenal fans gathered in large numbers to show their discontent about Korenke on Friday night and Arsenal losing the game 1-0 to Everton made things much worse.
The frustration toward Kroenke led Arsenal fan Swedish tech giant Daniel Ek, who reportedly worth $4b, to express his interest in buying the team, valued at $2.8 billion according to Forbes. The entrepreneur launched Spotify 13 years ago. After watching the pain of the fans, he Tweeted about his love for the club. In addition, he spoke about his desire to purchase Arsenal, which was confirmed by The Telegraph.
As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for @Arsenal as long as I can remember. If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I’d be happy to throw my hat in the ring.
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) April 23, 2021
2. Aliko Dangote:
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote expressed interest in buying the Londoners several times in the past and his most recent admission of interest in taking over Arsenal came in early 2021. It has further been reported that his oil refinery should be operational this year. That could mean that he can start talks with Kroenke with regards to the takeover.
Dangote is currently the 206th richest man in the world. He made his wish to buy Arsenal on several occasions in the past. In June 2015, Dangote had admitted to the idea of buying Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s 15.9 percent stake back in 2011. These were eventually purchased by Kroenke. He had missed out on an opportunity to do so and it cost him.
In September 2016, he once again came out in the media. This time he stated that a takeover would just be a question of timing. It was not about the money and that he had big plans for the Gunners. The Nigerian tycoon is valued at $11.5b right now.
