Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon has revealed that she would love to invest in Arsenal.
Witherspoon is best known for starring in Legally Blond and The Big Little Lies, but she is also a big football fan. The 46-year-old invested in MLS side Nashville SC last year and now it seems as though she’s got her sights set on a slightly bigger fish.
Appearing on BBC programme The One Show to promote her new Netflix film Your Place or Mine alongside co-star Ashton Kutcher, Witherspoon was asked about her interest in football. Host Jermaine Jenas asked whether she might be interested in following in the footsteps of fellow Hollywood stars and Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney by investing in a British team.
“If there’s space in Arsenal, all my sons and everybody would be really excited. That’s our favourite team,” she replied. “We watched the game the other day. It was bananas! That’s our team.”
Former Tottenham midfielder Jenas replied: “You’ve literally picked my rivals.” Witherspoon added: “I’m probably going to really wreck myself here too because there are people out there who are not Arsenal fans! I also like PSG.”
Reynolds and McElhenney took over Wrexham in February 2021 and have continued to make headlines ever since. The north Welsh club are currently top of the National League and, after beating Coventry in the previous round, drew 3-3 with Championship heavy-hitters Sheffield United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Their success with Wrexham appears to have triggered a wave of interest from other Hollywood celebrities. Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan recently became an investor in Bournemouth and Kutcher revealed he was close to doing something similar.
He told Jenas: “I’m a big United States soccer fan, but I do watch the Premier League and I actually came very close to investing in a Premier League team in the last month.”
Witherspoon grew up in the Nashville area and, along with husband Jim Toth and sons Deacon and Tennessee, became involved with Tennessee SC last year.
“As a Tennessee native, it is thrilling to see how much growth and development has come to our home state,” she said at the time. “One of the things that my whole family is most excited about is Nashville Soccer Club. The opportunity to go as a family and watch a world class team compete has been such an incredible experience.”
Arsenal, who are currently top of the Premier League under manager Mikel Arteta, are owned by American billionaire Stan Kroenke. The businessman became the Gunners’ majority shareholder in 2018 and also owns NFL franchise the LA Rams.
