The Kroenkes are spending at Arsenal – does it matter why?
There were some special guests in the Arsenal box on Wednesday night. As well as Oleksandr Zinchenko, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and technical director Edu were joined by board member Tim Lewis and owners Stan and Josh Kroenke.
The signing of Zinchenko, now made official, means that Arsenal have now spent more on transfer fees this summer than any other club in Europe thus far. Last summer, their transfer spend was the highest in the Premier League.
Transfer fees only tell part of the story — salary also accounts for a big chunk of the budget and alongside this seemingly lavish expenditure, Arsenal have successfully rebalanced their wage bill. Nevertheless, their outlay represents significant support from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.
Asked about the owners during a media appearance at Universal Studios on Friday, Arteta was emphatic in his praise. “I’ve been really impressed,” he said. “They were here for two days. We had a lot of time to sit down in a really relaxed way — talk about football, the sport in general.
“The vision they have, the commitment and level of understanding of the sport in general, is fascinating.
“I can tell you: I have never seen ownership at that level so committed, close and engaged to bring this club where we want.”
Of course, Arteta is inclined to talk this way. The Kroenkes are ultimately his employers — the owners who agreed to take a gamble on an untested manager. The Spaniard’s limited experience means he also doesn’t have a great deal to weigh KSE against. It’s not as if, as a manager, he has dealt with a variety of contrasting owners.
It’s right to treat anyone’s praise of their boss with a healthy measure of cynicism but even accounting for that, Arteta may have a point. KSE’s contention is that since finally taking full control of the club, they have been able to exert greater influence at Arsenal. Speaking in November of last year, Josh Kroenke said that his family have “only really owned the club since 2018″.
Things do appear to be changing. Josh takes a more active role in the governance of Arsenal than his father ever seemed to. The presence of Lewis in the box in Orlando was further evidence of the pivotal role he plays connecting Arsenal’s executive hierarchy with the ownership. There is more oversight now. The characterisation of the Kroenkes as distant, disengaged and miserly does feel increasingly outdated.
“I think before, we could have a perception of what they were,” says Arteta. “I think it’s completely changed. I think that’s been shown with facts and acts.
“Their presence here as well. Something is to be here and something is to be here the way they were. I guarantee you: they are fully committed, engaged and really looking forward to taking this club to the top.”
The Kroenkes have begun to taste success across their other sporting franchises. The LA Rams won the Super Bowl in February. The Colorado Avalanche added ice hockey’s Stanley Cup. Those close to the Kroenkes say they now want Arsenal to follow suit by winning one of football’s biggest prizes. For KSE, given the scale of the competition, the challenges they have faced, and the standing in which they have been held by fans, that might be the most cherished achievement of all.
So sanctioning expenditure is in part about ambition — but let’s be clear, it’s also about protecting an asset. Arsenal had tumbled out of Europe and their star appeared on the wane. They have had to buy to stop the bleeding as well as kickstart a new project.
It’s meant abandoning their previously “self-sustaining” model — although the pandemic would have forced them to do that anyway. But this expenditure is something that needed to happen.
“If you look at how other teams have done it and where we were, there is a transition moment where that (curve) has to change at some stage,” says Arteta, indicating a fall and rise with a sweep of his hand.
“Look where we are investing the money — we are not spending the money, we have made big investments — but investment for the future with huge talent and a lot of performance. Possibly in the future, we have to do something to have a squad that can sustainably be financed by itself. That’s the objective.”
If Arsenal are to return to a self-sustaining model, they need the additional revenue provided by Champions League qualification. They must speculate to accumulate — they may need to speculate simply to start breaking even again.
KSE’s decision to support Arsenal’s spending is most likely driven by pure business strategy than passion but to a fan, does that matter, given the outcome is the same?
There are many Arsenal supporters for whom the Kroenkes are irredeemable. They do not buy 2018 as the watershed it’s presented as and feel these owners presided over a steady decline from their first involvement.
Redundancies at the start of the pandemic did little to curry favour, even if Arsenal insist they were necessary. And then there was the decision to join the breakaway European Super League, which sparked mass protests at the Emirates Stadium. For some, that act remains entirely unforgivable — and everything that’s followed could be interpreted as an attempt to rehabilitate KSE’s reputation.
There’s also the question of how exactly this spending is being financed. Arsenal’s latest financial results showed the club to have a £201.5million debt to parent company KSE UK. The interest rate on these loans remains private, although The Athletic has been told the terms are favourable to the club. The loan is repayable on two years’ notice but as yet, no such notice has been received. Arsenal’s summer spending this year is likely to incur more debt. Should KSE ever call that in, it would leave Arsenal in a precarious financial position.
It has been said KSE’s “hands-off” approach is reliant on having a strong executive core leading the club. After several years of constant transition and some questionable appointments, the Kroenkes appear to have landed on a pair they trust in Arteta and Edu. Arteta in particular seems to have a skill for managing upwards — he is able to exert pressure on the ownership to garner support when needed.
And by and large, it arrives. The Kroenkes are far from perfect owners — but money is clearly being made available. The accusation has long been that the Kroenke ownership won’t be what propels Arsenal back to the summit of English football but, in a purely sporting sense, it’s increasingly difficult to argue the Kroenkes are what’s holding Arsenal back.
https://theathletic.com/3443951/2022/07/23/arsenal-kroenkes-transfers-owners/
The Kroenkes are spending at Arsenal – does it matter why?
There were some special guests in the Arsenal box on Wednesday night. As well as Oleksandr Zinchenko, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and technical director Edu were joined by board member Tim Lewis and owners Stan and Josh Kroenke.
The signing of Zinchenko, now made official, means that Arsenal have now spent more on transfer fees this summer than any other club in Europe thus far. Last summer, their transfer spend was the highest in the Premier League.
Transfer fees only tell part of the story — salary also accounts for a big chunk of the budget and alongside this seemingly lavish expenditure, Arsenal have successfully rebalanced their wage bill. Nevertheless, their outlay represents significant support from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.
Asked about the owners during a media appearance at Universal Studios on Friday, Arteta was emphatic in his praise. “I’ve been really impressed,” he said. “They were here for two days. We had a lot of time to sit down in a really relaxed way — talk about football, the sport in general.
“The vision they have, the commitment and level of understanding of the sport in general, is fascinating.
“I can tell you: I have never seen ownership at that level so committed, close and engaged to bring this club where we want.”
Of course, Arteta is inclined to talk this way. The Kroenkes are ultimately his employers — the owners who agreed to take a gamble on an untested manager. The Spaniard’s limited experience means he also doesn’t have a great deal to weigh KSE against. It’s not as if, as a manager, he has dealt with a variety of contrasting owners.
It’s right to treat anyone’s praise of their boss with a healthy measure of cynicism but even accounting for that, Arteta may have a point. KSE’s contention is that since finally taking full control of the club, they have been able to exert greater influence at Arsenal. Speaking in November of last year, Josh Kroenke said that his family have “only really owned the club since 2018″.
Things do appear to be changing. Josh takes a more active role in the governance of Arsenal than his father ever seemed to. The presence of Lewis in the box in Orlando was further evidence of the pivotal role he plays connecting Arsenal’s executive hierarchy with the ownership. There is more oversight now. The characterisation of the Kroenkes as distant, disengaged and miserly does feel increasingly outdated.
“I think before, we could have a perception of what they were,” says Arteta. “I think it’s completely changed. I think that’s been shown with facts and acts.
“Their presence here as well. Something is to be here and something is to be here the way they were. I guarantee you: they are fully committed, engaged and really looking forward to taking this club to the top.”
The Kroenkes have begun to taste success across their other sporting franchises. The LA Rams won the Super Bowl in February. The Colorado Avalanche added ice hockey’s Stanley Cup. Those close to the Kroenkes say they now want Arsenal to follow suit by winning one of football’s biggest prizes. For KSE, given the scale of the competition, the challenges they have faced, and the standing in which they have been held by fans, that might be the most cherished achievement of all.
So sanctioning expenditure is in part about ambition — but let’s be clear, it’s also about protecting an asset. Arsenal had tumbled out of Europe and their star appeared on the wane. They have had to buy to stop the bleeding as well as kickstart a new project.
It’s meant abandoning their previously “self-sustaining” model — although the pandemic would have forced them to do that anyway. But this expenditure is something that needed to happen.
“If you look at how other teams have done it and where we were, there is a transition moment where that (curve) has to change at some stage,” says Arteta, indicating a fall and rise with a sweep of his hand.
“Look where we are investing the money — we are not spending the money, we have made big investments — but investment for the future with huge talent and a lot of performance. Possibly in the future, we have to do something to have a squad that can sustainably be financed by itself. That’s the objective.”
If Arsenal are to return to a self-sustaining model, they need the additional revenue provided by Champions League qualification. They must speculate to accumulate — they may need to speculate simply to start breaking even again.
KSE’s decision to support Arsenal’s spending is most likely driven by pure business strategy than passion but to a fan, does that matter, given the outcome is the same?
There are many Arsenal supporters for whom the Kroenkes are irredeemable. They do not buy 2018 as the watershed it’s presented as and feel these owners presided over a steady decline from their first involvement.
Redundancies at the start of the pandemic did little to curry favour, even if Arsenal insist they were necessary. And then there was the decision to join the breakaway European Super League, which sparked mass protests at the Emirates Stadium. For some, that act remains entirely unforgivable — and everything that’s followed could be interpreted as an attempt to rehabilitate KSE’s reputation.
There’s also the question of how exactly this spending is being financed. Arsenal’s latest financial results showed the club to have a £201.5million debt to parent company KSE UK. The interest rate on these loans remains private, although The Athletic has been told the terms are favourable to the club. The loan is repayable on two years’ notice but as yet, no such notice has been received. Arsenal’s summer spending this year is likely to incur more debt. Should KSE ever call that in, it would leave Arsenal in a precarious financial position.
It has been said KSE’s “hands-off” approach is reliant on having a strong executive core leading the club. After several years of constant transition and some questionable appointments, the Kroenkes appear to have landed on a pair they trust in Arteta and Edu. Arteta in particular seems to have a skill for managing upwards — he is able to exert pressure on the ownership to garner support when needed.
And by and large, it arrives. The Kroenkes are far from perfect owners — but money is clearly being made available. The accusation has long been that the Kroenke ownership won’t be what propels Arsenal back to the summit of English football but, in a purely sporting sense, it’s increasingly difficult to argue the Kroenkes are what’s holding Arsenal back.
https://theathletic.com/3443951/2022/07/23/arsenal-kroenkes-transfers-owners/
