Stan Kroenke says it would be cool if Arsenal won the Premier League and has backed Arsene Wenger as the man to bring the title back to North London.
In an interview with the Mirror, the majority shareholder said the signing of Mesut Ozil was a necessity, not a statement, and that he’d love to experience the Gunners take home the Premier League crown.
“There would be nothing cooler,” he said. “I’ve never experienced it over here, to win the championship of the Premier League. Some of my American cohorts have experienced that and we haven’t been able to.
“I’m not getting any younger. It’s something I would like to achieve. There would be nothing more thrilling than to win a championship.
“I know that I say how much I’d like to win. But I know for the players, for the coaches and the manager, everyone around the club who is there every day, I can’t imagine the level of excitement they would have.
“The idea that no one cares or is passionate about that sort of thing is just beyond the realms of imagination.”
He spoke about the signing of Ozil from Real Madrid and denied that Arsenal had spent the money because they were under pressure to do so.
“We weren’t there to make a statement. It’s absolutely not done for that. It was done purely because our manager views him as worth that money, sees him as a player to help us compete, and that meant we were happy to pay it.”
And of Wenger himself, Kroenke admitted they had a good relationship and that he’d like to see the Frenchman continue beyond his contract when it expires next summer.
“I really enjoy Arsene,” he said. “I enjoy talking with him, he is a very interesting guy. He has an absolute view on how he runs that team and the club. He has earned that right. Don’t look for me to interfere with that. I have learnt over the years that sometimes owners try do that and it is not so good.
“Guys who try to say that we should push Arsene harder to spend and so on, that’s fair enough, there’s always lots of opinions, but Arsene is an independent thinker, planner, works very hard at it, has a wonderful record and history.
“Arsène knows how we feel, what our philosophy is, what we want to do and I feel like we are totally aligned. I think he wants to do it the exact same way as we do.”
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Read the full interview with Stan Kroenke, in which he talks about the Suarez bid, Wenger, his long term plans and more – here here and here.
This is just one more step around the corner the club seems to be turning recently.
I actually got a better view on Kroenke now. Hopefully Arséne can lead us to success!
Which is precisely what the sudden media spotlight is probably for. Forgive me for being a pessimist but I cannot help but feel that Kroenke has used the first possible opportunity to ride the coattails of a positive media image. Very acute – stay silent when you need to, speak up when you have a club (figuratively). I don’t mean that what he has said is disingenuous or false in any means – the timing is a bit too keen for it to be a mere proclamation however. It’s quite a bit of tasty information, much we have asked for,… Read more »
Agree ^^^
I don’t work in marketing or PR, but SK is no fool. He is a businessman.
Finally speaking out on anything Arsenal related happened to coincide with:
* transfer record smashed
* overall a very positive vibe about the club
* top of the league
* on the back of a very, very positive streak results-wise
If his marketing folks are worth their salt, this interview will be reprinted in a lot of languages.
My thoughts exactly… we could have used some of these communications when we were in the middle of the storm and there seemed to be no plan. His approach seems to be the mirror-image of Usmanov’s in that sense. 🙂 The only positive I can take out of this is the bit about Ozil not being a ‘marquee’ signing. I think it would’ve been very easy (especially if it was a leading question) to just say, oh yeah, we’ve made a statement. To stick to the “value for money” outlook even at that point indicates somewhat that it’s a genuinely… Read more »
Totally Agree.
Where was Stan’s voice when we were struggling?
I hope he doesn’t think he can take too much of the credit for the smashed transfer record and being top of the table. It is due to the hard work of the people who put these plans in place long before he bought the club.
It’s not exactly like he’s invested 42 million quid directly out of his own pocket for Mesut. What Arsene tells Stan, Stan would surely agree too.
I’m still not even convinced Stan knows what sport Arsenal Football Club is involved in.
I am very much in the professional marketing space and I do think Arsenal are handled very well in this way as a whole (Bendtner hasn’t always helped mind).
Best way to market a football club is to win though, and that is exactly what we are doing so fair play to the 11 marketeers on the pitch!
Plus Wenger’s contract is up, Kroenke likes Wenger because he keeps the club rich.
I wouldn’t trust Kronke and inch. And his US sports teams records, are dire.
AGM impending…
Rob: Yes. That. Funny that I first found these comments while watching his NFL team get destroyed in the Thursday night game. However, the Rams have a decent head coach and should have a couple of decent upcoming drafts from the RGIII trade. I’m guessing that Kroenke is also eyeing LA. There are stadium lease clauses that they might try to use to get out of St. Louis sooner rather than later. So, if he’s playing a really long game, the Rams aren’t in terrible shape but that has more to do with profitability than with winning and doesn’t change… Read more »
Been thinking at the timing, and you know, I think this might have been the first time he could have done this. Last year things were so screwed up and divisive, that whatever he had said would probably made things worse. Would he have been believed, whatever he said? Even now people are looking into the deeper agenda with the AGM coming up, but last year? Top of the league, in the CL and the cups, with one of the best players in the world added to the squad, people are relaxed enough to at least listen, even if they… Read more »
But he hasn’t done anything differently since you hated him before. I understand the apprehension of foreign ownership, particularly when it follows the fan share structure, but for an American owner to make necessary funds available and let football people use it without interference, what more do you want? The Ozil transfer is not even turning a corner in transfer policy, in my opinion. It’s the same transfer we always make–a player who is available at a cut price due to circumstance. It’s just that this time that player was the best number ten in the world; £42m is still… Read more »
Kroenke has spoken!!!!
Enos to his friends.
More than Abramovich has ever done. Shady, capricious Russian oligarch with no experience owning sports teams, who could sell up at any moment, or American who’s owned various for 20 years and never sold one?
Shhhh… Abramovich spends a bazillion pounds and brought Jose to England, he is the best owner of a team the World has EVER seen….
Um… I take it Sarcasm is dead?
you can’t talk shit and then call it sarcasm, sarcasm has it rules. you be with the rules or you will just look like an oaf
More hyperbole rather than sarcasm perhaps, which may have led to some downvotes.
Personally I liked it and agree completely with the sentiment behind it,
I was going to make a sarcastic comment about the previous one, on but re-reading it I realize I don’t need to
Like the first Kroenke!
Looks like he knows well enough to keep his nose out of footballing matters. Well done Stan.
Precisely. People bitch about “Silent Stan” but do we really want an owner who puts his nose into the team where he clearly shouldn’t? Whatever you think about Arsene, who would you rather have making decisions about the team? If the football people make bad decisions it is the owners fault but I don’t want him making decisions about the team. He obviously knows little about the game and doesn’t act as if he does.
Off topic, but who rates coquelin i think hes quality
Well off topic lol. Hopefully he will get better whilst on loan! Le Coq is currently surplus to requirements!
At least he’s not getting any younger
At least he’s not getting any younger
Is there an echo in here?!
i read it with a different tone! Haha
I laughed at the “I’m not getting any younger” part. He says it as if he was out there on the field. xD
How much did his rug cost? Whatever it was he was ripped off.
you mean ,what ever rodent he ripped it off was ripped off.
Bentner came round in the NICK of time. Get it. (Out the door I go)
Yes Kronks. Arsene Knows.
Not So Silent Stan 🙂
I just like that he has given Arsene the backing he rightly deserves.
afnWe may have the money to buy superstars we want but if there’s one man I want picking those stars for the team….it’s Arsene.
Ozil!, only the beginning……
[we already have superstars at the club, it’s exciting I know]
Interesting. I kind of like the fact he stays out of things. As long as he’s not taking money from the club, and he doesnt seem to be, then I have no problem with him. He lets Wenger get on with it and thats the main thing. Bad moustache though.
That would be totally awesome, dude!
It would be really swell if that could happen bro. Imagine winning the title, thats like, winning the superbowl. Herpityderp.
Footnote: I am not a Yank, but I go to uni in California. There are more bro-tanks than brain cells.
Still love America though <3
Silent no more!
Incredible Arsene!
It would be cool to win the championship of the premier league this season!
Kroenke, “Don’t look for me to interfere with that”
i just went from, wishing the guy would leave the club to the people that love it, to thinking, hmm, he’s doing that. could it be that in that moment, i began to like Kroenke just a little… Shudder.
I genuinely am confused at the treatment that Stan and Ivan get. While i fall in the “Indifferent about our owners” group, i have to ask why they are so strongly hated by members of the fanbase. Is it because Kronke is a billionaire and dosent put silly money into the club? Because he hadn’t/hasn’t laid anything out on his vision for the club? Because he dosen’t attend many matches? Because he bought a Ranch out of his own pocket? What is the expectation of owners in any sport? Same with Gazidis. Why the hate? Because he dosen’t personally get… Read more »
People need scapegoats upon whom to heap blame for the lack of ‘success’. Wenger is (rightly) difficult to criticise after all he’s done for the club, so guns are turned towards Gazidis and the aloof ‘Yank’ who ‘doesn’t care about the club.’
It is a lot about misinformation and scapegoating as Redondante said before. People actually don’t know what these two do and are more than happy to listen to what the gutter press has to say about them. And, in part, the Club is also to blame for not being more open about their doings. Obviously transfer dealings must be kept quiet but the club did not clearly demonstrate that money was tight in previous years, what the short term plan was and then the long term plan. And then, in the summer, the calibre of player (whose numbers are so… Read more »
‘The club did not clearly demonstrate that money was tight in previous years, what the short term plan was and then the long term plan.’ I must say, I think Wenger in particular has been very clear from 2004 onwards about what the plan was, and that 2012 would be a turning point. He said these exact words 4 or 5 years ago, and by then he was simply restating his position: ‘Briefly, these are the basics. I thought: ‘We are building a stadium, so I will get young players in early so I do not find myself exposed on… Read more »
Or, to put all that much more succinctly, watch this – one of the best Arsenal videos I’ve ever seen:
http://vimeo.com/69360936
The signing of Ozil was critical. It changed so many things.
Dude.. very well said.. it could very well be a blog man.. two thumbs up.. totally agree with u.. ANY TRUE ARSENAL FAN would know this.. our chelski n man city counter parts have corrupted our though process by flaunting their medals.. but these are hollow victories.. after all is said n done arsenal, man utd and liver pool will remain (even though liverpool are crap right now).. chelsea and man city are pretenders.. history forgets pretenders
This comment deserves to be *so* much more than just a reply to another comment. Can anything be done about this?
Thank you so much Redondante for your brilliant post, you should blog it.
That video you linked had me in tears.
No, Wenger’s hands have not always been tied, except insofar as they have been tied by his own philosophy of frugality. The club has had ample money for new signings for years now — Gazidis has said this explicitly several times — but Wenger has chosen not to spend the money available to him on account of his commitment to frugality. Did you even read the article? Stan said, to paraphrase, ‘Some people say we should push Arsene harder to spend … but we don’t want to interfere, etc.” That says it all. Spending is down to Wenger, and he… Read more »
In reply to Bamford13 above… Arsène Wenger rarely looks to buy players just for the sake of it. He’s often said that he tries to find players who will fit into his vision of Arsenal, who will add something to the squad, not come in merely as makeweights and limit the prospects of the younger players he’s trying to bring through. I’m sure if he had found those players, at the price of fees and wages he believed they merited, he would have spent more of that money that was available to him. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to… Read more »
@Redondante — Completely agree and many of us have been saying this for years, There is only one other factor that needs to be accounted for if you were going to match my position*, and that is wages. As to the above. This summer highlights exactly why wages were a problem. I’d retort with a simple Bollocks, I guess it needs expanding a bit. The playoff of the club’s strategy over the last few years was paying in wages what we couldn’t pay in transfer fees — much easier if you are cash strapped but have a huge turnover. It… Read more »
Oh Holy Fuck that was long. Sorry. (And someone got in ahead of me as well).
Seconded in regard to my contribution!
Although I appreciate him opening up a bit more I would have like him to show a bit more passion in the pursuit of a Premier League title, rather than it just being ‘cool’
its a marathon not a sprint…early season form good but we still need to buy some more quality players #januarytransferwindowcantcomesoonenough bring it on hopefully they are in talks already about bringing in some more would like to see them hijack lewondowski deal tho
Well fuck me, it speaks.
Also he looks like Nicholas Cage from some movie where he sports a similar moustache.
Up the arse!
Somewhere is the world, a rather fat Uzbekistan businessman is furiously swearing himself to sleep.
Man Utd have had to pay more than £550m since the Glazer takeover. Their debt is still £389.2m. The Glazers have done well to double their commercial revenues but United rely way too much on winning things. They pay £60m a year just for INTEREST on their debt. With Ferguson gone and the squad not in great shape, they are extremely lucky they got the new deals done before Ferguson left. United are in for a rough few years now. On the other hand Arsenal’s rough period is about to end. We have stockpiled enough cash, are working to increase… Read more »
Absolutely could not agree more. Whether or not you or anyone likes or hates Stan Kroenke for being the majority owner of Arsenal FC, put yourself for a moment in his shoes. As I mentioned in my post re him, his is worth billions…plural. Those type of people don’t go to their investment guy and get a list of stocks to buy. They buy real estate, or whole companies, or combinations of the two. So imagine being him…. Hmmm. I can purchase controlling interest in a club that has 1) stable management that has won things, 2) has already built… Read more »
Well its a clear victory for the PR heads.surf the wave of good fortune that is the result if Madrids transfer policy and say all the right things to placate the natives, not falling for any of that bullshit
“Guys who try to say that we should push Arsene harder to spend and so on, that’s fair enough, there’s always lots of opinions…” This is a seasoned, diplomatic line from Kroenke. Very clever. I hope to take what he’s said on face value. But I’m not sure it changes much. Even with the big player departures (Cesc, Nasri, RVP) over the last few years, I still think Arsene genuinely believed he could spring a surprise every year and compete for the title, before realism kicked in a few months later. I guess what I’m getting at is, I’d like… Read more »
Hmmm, still not sure about SK. “Arsène knows how we feel, what our philosophy is, what we want to do and I feel like we are totally aligned. I think he wants to do it the exact same way as we do.” Could this be because the philosophy you talk about being “ours” is in fact Arsene’s!? More like you are aligned with Arsene’s way of thinking. And as for being a great business man, whilst I’m sure he has surrounded himself with many, I’m pretty sure his wealth is largely part to his wife’s family being the Walmart heirs.… Read more »
Hi Folks, This is from a US Arsenal diehard here in North Carolina. I follow all things sport, and outside of Arsenal which is other than my college (US) football (where I earned a degree from so naturally there is a massive connection) team Clemson, my biggest passion is all US sports. Yes college level football is massive here. But I have followed the NFL, the NHL, the NBA, all of it. His teams here have actually won things, the Colorado Avalanche and St Louis Rams. However, those teams both had very strong management and their trophies came a good… Read more »
NCGunner thank you for the insight, especially the bit about what happens to Stan’s clubs after “quality management decides to call it quits or go elsewhere”. Based on NCGunner’s observation I think we can deduce the following took place: (Spring’13) Ivan: so Arsene, shall we sort out your contract extension? Arsene: I’ve disappointed the fans for 8 years, it wouldn’t be fair to the fans if I indulged myself to a multi-year 7mm-per-year extension at this time. (Autumn’13) Ivan: We got Ozil, we’re in the Champions League, we’re top of the table. C’mon Arsene, surely the time is right to… Read more »
This is an interesting view I haven’t heard before. It’s certainly worth thinking about. Do you really think that the choice of the “crap” coaching staff you describe as taking over at the Avalance and Rams was down to Kroenke? The long term future of Arsenal is close to my heart — Bertie Mee was manager when I first started supporting the club, so I’ve seen quite a few managers come and go, some highs and some real lows. How much, I wonder, will SK want to influence the eventual choice of a replacement for Le Prof? I’ve always hoped… Read more »
100% agree. wenger will name his successor just like fergie did at united. except we’ll hopefully end up with someone not a little out of their depth like moyes.
Your point is very well taken and spot on in terms of your concerns and I hope Wenger would have that idea and be allowed to push it through. I am not sure why it would not be the case. We have in the US professional sports these general managers. And Ivan Gazidis is not a like for like in terms of the American general manager. They are not really concerned with the marketing and bottom line, etc. That is more for the president which most have as well, and if they don’t it is down to the owner. General… Read more »
*Let’s talk like Americans.
yo tots bro, it’s gonna be epic, I mean winning the league? it would really be w huge like fantastic achievememt dude, just like holding a babys ass for the 1st time man
{they say things that make sense only to them}
You are certainly a good representative of your country, wherever that is.
The sometimes maniac need of the English to insult Americans is so transparently insecure. Every country is stock full of idiots, get over it.
A you ‘aving a giraffe? You plonker.
Who is the boss? In Arsene we Trust!!!!!
Saying all the right things in this interview, is Stan. Has yet to take money from the club and has given backing to our manager while stating ambition to win the league – in the context of other foreign owners, maybe he’s not so bad after all. Long may his positive relationship with arsene continue, I say.
Hey notamerican, Not sure how you came to throw stones at all Americans because of Stan Kroenke’s interview with the Guardian. But, MATE, we don’t all talk like California surfers….and secondly….I think it would be pretty damn “cool”, along with a ton of other adjectives, if we were to win the league. If I were you I would read the blog from a couple days ago from the very person who so graciously and passionately provides us with this forum. I believe Blogs himself would say after visiting here (and did so) that most of us, are in fact, pretty… Read more »
True that*
Well it took him a few years to write and memorize saying that. I wonder how many more years will it take him to come about with his next speech.
‘AW knows our philosophy’?! Well, he’s the one who brought it in the first place!
Stan shuts up and trusts the manager get on with things.
If I was really good at my job (like wenger is) that’s what I would want from my boss.
“When I couldn’t play at the highest level, I always had a dream to own a team”
Generally, when people don’t make it to the highest level, they dream of coaching or managing. Nope,Stan dreamt of “owning” a team!
Let’s use the NFL as an example. The pyramid of the game in the states is this. You have Kids teams/Junior leagues, High School teams, College teams, and Professional teams. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to make it to the top. When kids get to high school level groups form, and if your an outsider, you have zero respect. So in the NFL, should a skinny kid come in, who didn’t make it as anything close to being a player, they will not respect him at all. I know as fans we are obliged… Read more »
Stupid iPad… Last paragraph should read….
As much as We as arsenal fans do not get the American way of sport, It is normal (or at least as normal as I can explain with my 9 years of living in the US) for fans wanting to own the teams, as opposed to media, and coaching. Owning a team has prestige, and back rom coaching, or even coaching a small team will get you nothing really. Remember we are all talking good or bad about him, we NEVER talk about Tony Colbert….
….”“We have been very supportive, we have never wavered, we are proud of him, proud of the club, the way the club is run and how it holds itself out to the world….” Stan Kroenke
And so say all of us.
From Herbert Chapman to this day.
Up The Arsenal
Stan Kroenke factfile
Full name: Enos Stanley Kroenke (named after St Louis Cardinals baseball stars Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial).
Born: July 29, 1947.
Business: Founded real estate company Kroenke Group in 1983
Wealth: £2.5billion.
Wife: Anne Walton Kroenke, daughter of Wal-Mart co-founder Bud Walton.
Sporting empire: NFL’s St Louis Rams, NBA’s Denver Nuggets, NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, MLS’s Colorado Rapids, National Lacrosse League’s Colorado Mammoth
Wow. Stan speaks, and his fans cheer loudly on the forums. What has he done? NOTHING. Yeah he hasn’t saddled us with debt, or forced his opinions on the club, but what has he done? What is better than when we were owned by the others? At least we were English. Let’s not give him credit for simply buying the club!
He sits on the board. He probably advises (or his technical advisors do) on the club’s business matters. No doubt he has many powerful contacts. He doesn’t interfere with the footballing side — which is, after all, the raison d’être of the club. He appears to be a long-term enthusiast for the club, and sport is his life interest. In other words, he’s at least as good an owner as those we’ve had in the past — except, it appears, that he’s American, for which some fans don’t appear to be able to forgive him. I’d have preferred the club… Read more »
Let us have some more Ozil type signings in the January transfer window then we will have a cool PLl win
Does this mean we should start singing “Daddy Cool” when he’s at the matches
Screw you kroenke!! Now speaking up to absorb the positive feel around the club..and it’s just not a usual feel good factor arsenal are experiencing from a winning streak.the world over ,fans of other clubs are all speaking of arsenal in a positive light so this guy speaks up to be associated with this.however if he really means what he says ,get us the 2signings we need in January which will make us unstoppable then this type of statement might be looked at differently.
cool