In an interview with David Ornstein for the BBC, Josh Kroenke has reiterated the ambition of the owners is for Arsenal to win the Premier League again.
After a busy summer during which the Gunners rebuilt the squad with the signings of Nicolas Pepe, David Luiz, William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli, Kieran Tierney and the loan capture of Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid, the optimism among fans is much higher than it was following a difficult end to last season.
Insisting that the club’s transfer business was not a reaction to fan pressure, Kroenke made it clear that the ownership share the same desire as supporters, which is to see Arsenal win the title again.
“Our ambitions are the same as the fans,” he said. “We want to win and we want to win as much and as often as possible. And doing it a fun way, where they’re seeing some really entertaining football as well. I think we’ve got the group to do it.
“We have the highest of ambitions. In North America, we are trying to win. The Rams were in the Super Bowl last year. I can only imagine what a Champions League final is like after being over in Baku.
“There are six great clubs in the Premier League and unfortunately only four spots that are guaranteed.
“The economics involved – to be able to reinvest back into the club, attract different players who only want Champions League football … our goal is to get back and to win the Premier League.”
I would also like to say “Be Excited”
how great a new highlight of the banter era this could have been if we had ended up without exciting signings. can’t have it all i guess
On that note about being excited, are there any updates about Mustafi’s departure?
I cant express how much I dislike the Kroenke ownership. Whichever way you cut it, they are hugely responsible for the mess we currently find ourselves in. That being said — I am willing to give Josh the opportunity to change my mind. Provided he takes responsibility for the ownership of the club and looks to push us in a new direction. That direction being, back to the summit of English football. I am not asking to see us win the league every season. But I do want us to be a realistic contender. I want to see us fighting… Read more »
What’s that got to do with the post you replied to?
@midgunner: comment highjacker.
The attitude seems to be: A good owner provides money from his own pocket, the bad owner doesn’t.
As Arsenal is going to run a solid deficit this year, the Kroenkes have opened the wallet. But there is much more to ownership, not the least the selection of leaders on every level. They are not doing too badly here, I think.
The media profile has been too low, but this interview helps. Also, when you consider that opening up on your plans and strategies invites reactions. Hopefully, Josh Kroenke will participate in the discussion.
Seeing as KSE own the entire club, you be willing to give Josh the opportunity must be very reassuring for them.
No doubt Josh lies awake each night, worrying about you and your demands.
@Frank & Drew
Ultimately all of the people that run Arsenal are accountable to the fans. As without us, there is no football club.
So yes — the very fact Josh is actually attempting to engage with the fans does suggest there is some concern behind the scenes, otherwise he and KSE simply wouldnt be doing it.
The starting point is beating the scum in their backyard this Sunday. That will send a clear message of intent. Get in!
Mate Liverpool aren’t the scum. I’d only really call them lot down the road or Surrey united scum.
The game at Anfield is Saturday 5.30pm not Sunday, but this game and the NLD the following week are the real tests! COYG!
I was in Brazil watching last year visiting my Liverpool loving brother for that 5-1 defeat. Another Spud friend of his was visiting too. This match is bloody personal, I want revenge!!!!
Laca New Signing one of our US fans maybe – Sunday morning over there – and has too many scoUSers in his locale rather than fans of the real Scum. He must learn though!
You’ve got that all backward
You’re right, my mistake. “if I could turn back time” as the song goes.
GraeB, he’d need to be in an eastern country. Australia, Singapore. India isn’t quite far enough. What’s the time difference to Myanmar, anyone?
We play Liverpool this weekend on the Saturday
Sp**rs are the following Sunday
You do know we’re playing Liverpool on Saturday right?
My apologies. I totally overlooked Liverpool and my mind went ahead to the Sp*rs game next Sunday. Yeah lets beat both! COYG!
I am liking Josh here. I have been frustrated recently like every fan, but it’s clear to see that atleast the owners are not actively holding us back.
We can afford zero dud signings now. Every pound invested has to translate into results. The gap is enormous, and it was a slow process even for the clear top 2.
Gotta cut this guy some slack after that absolute banger of a window we just had.
I have been saying this for over a year now. Since the previous management. The problem has never been the owners. We were always told by certain parts of the media *cough* that ”Silent Stan” never wanted to cough up the dough to allow us to compete while at the same time we were making 35m+ signings on a regular basis.
The problem was never the owners.
I am with you on this.
When we look at the transfer business that has been done since Wenger’s last season, you cannot in good conscience say the Kroenkes are unambitious.
On the other hand, a true measure of their ambition and will be seeing what they do if we do a united and our signings don’t change our fate (:
…On the other hand, a true measure of their ambitions will be seeing what the Kreonkes do if (we do a united and) our new signings do not get us back into the champions league.
Interesting point about seeing how the Kroenke’s react if new signings don’t get us CL football… but isn’t that what just happened this summer?
35m on Mustafi, 35m on Xhaka, 30m on Torreira, 60m on Auba, 50m on Laca, 72m on Pepe, 42m on Ozil, 20m on Sokratis.
I don’t know about you but that barely sounds like penny pinching to me. More like a really bad use of the funds in some instances.
Everyone makes some dud signings that cost a lot. It’s the lack of good sales that have killed us.
my point is that people have blamed KsE for not wanting to spend money in the transfer window to help us compete when the above is clearly evidence of the contrary.
Spending money has never been the issue. It’s how we spent it that was the issue.
You’ve been making this point about transfer spend for a while and you’ve been proven right mate.
The major problem with KSE is they’ve always been a bit faceless and a bit hands off, plus we know Arsenal generate a lot of revenue while being self-sustaining – so what we spent was really “our money”, not theirs.
I think Josh deserves kudos for the general handling of this post-Wenger period but prior to that, Silent Stan was the man, and that man was a gaping void who seemed incapable of the leadership and direction we’re seeing now.
It used to be the issue if you go back 5-10 years
Couldn’t have done much more this summer. Reasons to be optimistic.
The forward line in particular is top notch.
We’d see. But I find the fairly frequent feedback from Josh quite refreshing.
I must admit I’m very glad Josh has stepped in and involved himself in proceedings and ol’ man Kroenke is nowhere to be seen. Stan is a nasty piece of work. Josh was born into it and seems to be genuinely interested in the Arsenal project. I’m not expecting some ridiculous injection of money (nor really want it, it’s good to have a sustainable business model in football – there are already too many teams like that destroying the game), but I think we all expect the majority of money earned by the club to be reinvested and for that… Read more »
If he thinks Baku sets him up to wonder what a CL final would be like, just try him on the stadium atmosphere for a PL winning home game!
I well remember the whole upper tier structure of Highbury North Bank bouncing and bending visibly above me as the place rocked last time we did it.
Also the infamous “stick your 2 points up your arse“ day to beat Manure.
He does a good job of not looking like a total asshole. Signs are positive from this summer so giving the KSE ownership benefit of the doubt for now. Perhaps we’ll see more willingness to invest now that they are 100% owners and they’re not concerned that their investments are benefitting Mr Usmanov.
Dont think I’ve heard so much from a Kroenke in the last 10 years.
Maybe this guy will be a hands on owner to make up for his old man. We are still a long way off winning the title. But after two wins on the trot for the first time in 10 years to start a season, it’s hard to say fuck off kroenke as of yet this season.
It should not be a mere talk on news but we need a talk with an impact for good result of winning cups.
Starts with mere talk to be fair though…
Worthwhile reading the full article on the BBC website. Nothing earth-shattering as far as I can see. The humiliation of the Europa Cup final (no doubt on top of the earlier capitulation in the final games of the Premier League, and with it the top 4 finish that was within reach) – the “difficult end to last season” as the report above puts it – was, apparently, the driver for changes in transfer policy. Kroenke Jnr. makes the key point about the importance of getting CL football, and the money attached to it. He’s absolutely right there. We shouldn’t be… Read more »
Mentioning Baku is just to remind us that he was there because I dont know what positives he could actually take from that game. Otherwise, all requisite boxes ticked. They need to demonstrate that they can maintain the commitment and success they showed this summer, then we will be in a good place.
I love that Josh is making an appearance, and I’m really pleased with the work that’s being done with the squad.
It’s a shame to see some fans berating his father though….
I don’t get your point about fans “berating his father”. You welcome the work that’s being done with the squad (as we all do, of course) but do you think that the slow decline culminating in the disasters at the end of last season (which according to Kroenke Jnr. were the catalyst for change) came about as a result of the great work done by Kroenke Snr in all the years before? Really? Come on …
Good article, Josh comes across very well here. But if he really wanted to win the fans’ approval, after he said “There are six great clubs in the Premier League”, he should have then said “oh, and Spurs”.
He should have said 5 great clubs and left it hanging after dropping the mike ??
Is it really? And have you done to achieve this “goal” in the last 13 years?
To the guys credit he delivered for us in the transfer window along with Raul and Vinai, now it’s all down to Emery and the players.
In my opinion, if Emery can’t achieve top 4 with this squad he should get the sack.
KSE has owned the club for over a decade. Why should we give the Kroenkes any credit when they haven’t invested any of their money, haven’t won the PL or CL and generally managed the club badly?
Do you want a club that spends more money than it earns? I’m sure there is a spot or two left on the $ity band-wagon. That is EXACTLY what has driven football into this absolutely manic spending and inflated market. Money should only be spent if it’s generated in the game. Saying that it’s not too much to ask that the majority of that is reinvested in the development of the squad and team on and off the pitch. And you have to give credit where credit is due, the Kroenke’s just did that. I’ve been super critical of them… Read more »
Well, as Josh has said himself, him and Stan are one and the same thing. You can’t have one without the other and it is pure fantasy than one is good for Arsenal and the other is bad. They are two sides of the same coin. The fact that they’ve presided over the club’s decline for over a decade and the way they’ve treated shareholding fans is a disgrace. Until they make Arsenal truly competitive (by winning actual trophies, not winning the “Good Intentions League”), I will not give the Kroenkes the slightest credit.
Of course they are going to say that and I’m sure Stan is still the boss, but I think Josh’s influence is growing out of the duo in terms of their commitment to the club. Josh looks very interested…Stan, less so. Probably more interested in “hunting” endangered species from the back of caged trucks with high powered rifles.
Stan’s still the man, though – have no doubt about that. He never took day to day charge of the club anyway, and rarely attended games (I saw him there twice only).
@dave m Yes I do lol This isn’t NA sports. Where spending is restricted. Teams have territorial rights. Like you’ve mentioned in simplistic terms everything is split evenly except local markets. If the owners were “just” rich and didn’t have billions at their disposal than of course not. I’m not saying I want to cheat the system like city but there comes a point where we will get left behind. CL is very important as we all know. AW isn’t blameless in all this but it shouldn’t take 10 years of ownership to figure out how to do transfers. It’s… Read more »
“In my opinion, if Emery can’t achieve top 4 with this squad he should get the sack.” Can anyone who keeps making this point actually finish the thought process behind it? I’m sorry but We’re The Arsenal, we’re not some desperate little club. I don’t mind whether Emery stays or goes, but we need to have bigger goals than “top four, top four, top four”. Who do we think could take over and why? Let’s have a proper discussion about possible upgrades who could potentially build a title-winning team. Because whoever that person is, they’ll also need time to adjust… Read more »
I agree with most of what you say. However, to be fair, rivals have either spent billions to win the league and recruited the best coach in the world (City), or have spent billions and sacked coaches every 1-2 seasons (Chelsea). Everyone else just can’t compete with the resources of these two. For me, regardless of strategy in choosing a coach, if you want to compete, you must invest in your club and ignore the self-sustainable model to some extent.
Yes, the sad part of Wenger’s last few years was the way him and the club bought into this sustainable aspect without seeming to realise that if you let your rivals develop past you, suddenly your model doesn’t look so sustainable. So important that we’re now responding to our competitors.
It’s a reasonable target that we have to achieve top 4 to be able to compete at the best level and to attract the best players. If Emery fails we’ll get someone else in with different ideas, simple. There isn’t a shortage of managers to take over such a massive club.
Josh is seriously starting to win me over. Unlike his father he seems genuinely invested in the performances and future of the club as an elite player. His assessment of the final 45 minutes of the season and thus the reality of where we were has clearly shaped this summer. You don’t broker £72m deals on a whim and certainly not without a plan. Its certainly encouraging and here’s hoping that we continue to operate in a self-sustaining manner whilst continually improving the squad and reaching the same heights as City and Liverpool. First step in that is to go… Read more »
i am just happy that Josh had stepped up and start to communicate with fans. As what Josh said, trust must be slowly earned. i will see how it goes after fews years before i can say that i am convinced about the ambition of the ownership. As for now, let’s hope Arsenal can have a good season ahead. COYG!
Good Ebening. I am erect.
did I say that loud?
Every club in the country’s goal is to win the league, but it won’t happen without continued smart investment
“There’s six great clubs in the league, but only four CL spaces”
Not sure I like someone on the Arsenal board insinuating the Scum are a great club.
He meant Everton 😉
I think the owners have done enough to earn some patience from the fans. It’s always been about actions not words and the owners/bosses couldn’t have done much more considering where we are at the moment. It was so important they acted with big club mentality this summer. That quote ‘when Arsenal Football Club knocks on a player’s door it’s a different knock’ is obviously a great PR line but it undoubtedly has a ring of truth given our legacy. It was vital we kept that ethos going with exciting footballers and entertaining play. I just hope this is not… Read more »
It is possible if we continue with smart investment, and couple of transfer window we will be right up there with best in the Epl. Well.! When we finally have an identity in a style of our play because honestly I don’t see it now. I am hoping our leaders see it too.
Well we would all like to win the PL again and I’m glad that’s the objective. As long as we are objective enough to realise that it may take 3-5 years before this happens and with the proviso that the investment in the squad continues. At this stage when playing the top teams like Liverpool and Man City I think we should focus more on the effort made by the players on the pitch and less on the results. For this season – success would be a top 4 finish.
Let me start by saying that I am happy Josh is making a statement and coming out from the shadows, along with Unai, Raul and Vinai we seem to have a leadership team that is more willing to communicate regularly than under the old guard where Ivan would disappear for months. But, yes always a but, I have two issues with Josh’s recent communication. He makes it sound like this year is the first year of change and we have to be patient but Silent Stan has had a controlling stake for over 10 years now so why wait till… Read more »
Things have been looking up lately and my mood regarding Arsenal has certainly been lifted. Then the picture of this dipstick appears during breakfast.
trying to be positive and a good summer indeed, but i do feel to be genuine contenders we need 1 or better yet 2 jan signings. another DC and an attempt to mak cab permanent. i think if get 1 or better yet both those deals done, even if we dont win, this season atleast we couldnt blame the transfer dept. Stirling work so far
Surprisingly well said, Josh. For the last several years, as the club regressed due (in part) to poor leadership from the owners, I held out a small hope that things could change for the better if Josh became more involved. He seemed more interested in AFC and claimed to be a “fan”. Surely having an active owner who is a fan taking the reins would be better than Silent Stan who hardly bothered to pretend. It is certainly plausible that Josh got more involved, and supportive of doing things like buying a player like Pepe, after the debacle of the… Read more »
So we’ve gone from “We don’t like it when we don’t hear anything from the owners.” “We don’t like it when we don’t have any ambition.” “We don’t like it when we don’t have a plan.” “We don’t like it when we don’t buy and sell well.” to “Okay so we are hearing from the owners and their ambitions but we need to see actions” “Okay so we’ve bought and sold well to show their ambitions” Could it be that we actually do have owners that give a shit? We are now hearing from the club and they have been… Read more »
????
Fair enough. If I was being cynical, he only needed to say ‘I hear what your saying’ and the banalities would have been complete.
But you guys are not showing that desire to win the EPL. The purchases made this year am sure wouldn’t have been made if the protests had not taken place. Thus, Mr Josh until you invest your money in this team, i will never believe you and your family
Maybe I liked it better when they were silent…..
I think they spent on Pepe (although we must be wary a lot of this is also back loaded with potential impact to subsequent summers should we fail to deliver CL) BUT the Pepe deal showed a bit of ambition. Cebellos deal is kicking the can down the road as we will still have to deal with midfield solution again next summer. Tierney is a good deal but could have frankly waited to next summer bc Monreal is still decent one more season and we really needed to spend on Cback. Instead we had the club trying to extend Koscielny… Read more »
So many people on here seem to need someone or something to be cross about. Why not enjoy and get behind the upturns for the club?
We are net spend neutral this season without having to factor in back loading of 21m for 4 summers down (pepe/Saliba) We spent 64m and sold 62m. We may mint a bit more money with one or two more departures to make weight for the above. Nothing fundamentally has changed in terms of spending philosophy which IMO is a good thing (Self sufficiency) BUT the approach by Raul has been much bolder if not more imaginative than with Mslintat having to be accommodated. Some issues have not been sufficiently addressed, other s have, still others delayed. BUT overall positive. I… Read more »
It’s difficult to thumb your posts as they are a mixture of thoughts. I have no doubt you are a Gooner though Santori.