Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke was once the vilified poster boy of Arsenal protests and outrage. A lack of spending, trophies and overall communication from the ownership left the supporter base in a fury.
However, things have been and continue to change and the start of the 2023 summer transfer window demonstrates this further. Although Stan sees his son and co-chairman Josh Kroenke lead the way for Kroenke Sports Entertainment at the club, an overall improvement in openness with fans has certainly materialised.
Since the full takeover in 2018, spending in the window has soared and now the Gunners have come off the back of returning to title challenger status having come so very close to a first league title since 2004. The start of the window has seen significant movement on the part of the club.
Arsenal have had two bids each worth approximately £90 million rejected by West Ham for Declan Rice football.london understands. The club are pushing ahead in negotiations for Kai Havertz and are close to an agreement over a fee in the region of £60million.
Ilkay Gundogan is set to leave Manchester City this summer on a free transfer at the end of his contract and Arsenal have made an offer to sign the German international, but face competition from City, Barcelona and Saudi Arabian clubs. football.london understands an approximate bid of £30m has been made for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber with optimism over a potential deal.
Arsenal are also interested in signing Romeo Lavia from Southampton. Real Valladolid full-back Ivan Fresneda also remains of interest to the club too football.london understands.
READ MORE: Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Declan Rice deal, Kai Havertz talks, Gundogan decision
With the further intention of finding new clubs for a long list of players who the Gunners are aiming to significantly upgrade on with the aforementioned targets, the club is making serious steps in the right direction. On the pitch this was clear, off the pitch there was need for a big summer and if successful with their targets, that is exactly what the club hopes to get.
The question marks will however be raised if some of these primary targets are not successfully signed. Declan Rice in particular carries huge weight, and Arsenal missing out on their number one transfer target would strike a considerable blow to the reputations of sporting director Edu and rightfully the ownership for not allowing the investment necessary to complete the deal.
But there’s been an intention from Arsenal for some time to go big in these windows. Massive bids were made for Mykhailo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo in January, but this summer still feels different.
Yes, a self-sufficient Arsenal is indeed what the owners want, but this can be achieved through the initial sizeable investment before seeing a return through success on the field and an improvement in player sales and commercial revenue such as tickets and merchandise which has certainly been the case over the past year.
Arsenal’s away kit last season was the best selling in the club’s history. The home kit for the 2023/24 campaign became the best seller for an opening week in the club’s history.
The feel-good factor is back at Arsenal and the ownership have a lot to do with it. Now, just don’t let it slip otherwise there will be fair and appropriate criticism.
