It will soon be an end of an era for Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea.
With Blues owner Roman Abramovich stepping back from the day-to-day operations at Stamford Bridge last week amid the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, it was confirmed in a statement on Wednesday evening that he plans to bring his almost two-decade association with the west London outfit to an end by selling up.
"I would like to address the speculation in the media over the past few days in relation to my ownership of Chelsea FC," the statement begins. "As I have stated before, I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart.
"In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners.
"The sale of the club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid. This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and club.
"Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.
"This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.
"Please know that this has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, and it pains me to part with the Club in this manner.
"However, I do believe this is in the best interest of the club.
"I hope that I will be able to visit Stamford Bridge one last time to say goodbye to all of you in person. It has been a privilege of a lifetime to be part of Chelsea FC and I am proud of all our joint achievements. Chelsea Football Club and its supporters will always be in my heart."
Whilst Abramovich would have most likely wanted to end his association with Chelsea on his own, and better, terms, he will leave an incredible legacy behind - one that Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke should be taking note of.
The Russian, who bought the Blues in July 2003, has overseen a sustained period of success for the club as they've won every single domestic trophy at least three times under his stewardship.
Whilst to the envy of Arsenal, Chelsea became the first London team to win the Champions League in 2012 - something they've since repeated - and recently became champions of the world by winning the Club World Championship.
In addition, the Blues have two Europa League titles to their name and a UEFA Super Cup.
All of which was has been made possible with Abramovich not being afraid to make ruthless decisions and dig deep into his pockets.
Despite hiring the best managers such as Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Carlo Ancelotti only to sack them when they've underperformed, Abramovich has always been consistent in heavily backing each coach financially when it comes to signing new players.
According to a recent study, Chelsea have spent approximately £1.6bn on transfers since 2003 - only Manchester City have a higher spend in the same period - breaking their own transfer record nine times on the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Kai Havertz and Romelu Lukaku.
21 trophies later and there's little doubt that Abramovich has created a successful blueprint that many football club owners all over the world should follow.
With that said, Arsenal owner Kroenke doesn't need to be envious of Abramovich's success, he just needs to use it as a guide and hopefully, the Gunners can replicate what his LA Rams did in Super Bowl LVI last month very soon.
To the American billionaire's credit, there are signs that he has already started doing so.
Since Kroenke became the club's sole shareholder in 2018 following a successful £550m offer to Alisher Usmanov for his shares, Arsenal have broken their transfer record on Nicolas Pepe and there was the £125.8m outlay last summer to bring in Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Benjamin White, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard.
Not to mention the previous summer when he helped fund the £45m deal for Thomas Partey.
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Furthermore, football.london understands that Arsenal's plans for another significant transfer outlay this summer is set to receive backing from their billionaire owner.
It may not have been as sudden but Kroenke is clearly taking steps towards becoming more involved with the Gunners, and perhaps in time, he can be the type of owner for Arsenal like what Abramovich has been for Chelsea for nearly two decades.
Since 2004 there has been a powershift in London with the Blues becoming the dominant force, so with Abramovich selling up, this could be Arsenal's best chance to reclaim their status as the number one team in the capital.
