Josh Kroenke has warned Arsenal supporters that they will not be competing for the top trophies this season and admitted criticism of the club’s leadership has been “hard to take”.
On Monday, a total of 16 signatories from across Arsenal supporters’ organisations, fanzines and blogs published a statement hitting out at Stan Kroenke’s “passive ownership” as the club prepares for a third season without Champions League football. But while promising that supporters should “get excited” over potential new arrivals this summer in an open letter, Kroenke’s son Josh – who is the club’s vice-chairman – acknowledged that Arsenal were a long way off where they would like to be, highlighting that there are “no shortcuts”.
“As much as we would love to say that we’ll be competing for the top trophies tomorrow, we know that that’s not the case and that we have to get to work on that,” he told the club’s website. “That’s a daily approach to the little things from the top down. We understand that there’s a daily approach and a daily requirement of detail that goes into the overall approach of building the club back to where it needs to be.
“For me, on a personal level, I’m not sure how to address my passion. Anyone that knows me knows how passionate I am about Arsenal Football Club.
“Is it hard to take? Absolutely. But I’m not in this business to make friends, I’m in it to win. If anyone is ever going to question anything about our ownership – which I view as a custodianship, the supporters trust us to be a custodian of the values – that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to win whilst also respecting the values and traditions of the club.
“I’ve sat down with supporters’ groups. I’ve not been afraid to sit down to have tough conversations with people because I’m transparent, we’re transparent, we don’t have anything to hide. We all want the same thing and we’re all trying aggressively to make it happen. It’s just sometimes our timeline might not be as aggressive as others would like to see. But we’re not going to compromise the values that have kept Arsenal Football Club the way it is for over 130 years.”
Arsenal head coach Unai Emery took the squad away to the USA without captain Laurent Koscielny, who had refused to travel as a dispute over his future rumbles on. New signing Gabriel Martinelli impressed as a young side eased to a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids in their first game of pre-season. Tougher tests, of course, lie ahead, with Arsenal yet to make a marquee summer transfer move.
“It’s no secret that we have a Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget right now. That’s a fact. And one that we’re figuring out how to face internally at the moment,” Kroenke added.
“That doesn’t mean that my father or I have ever said anything about any restrictions on spending. We know where we need to be and we know the areas we need to address on the pitch. It’s not who you buy, it’s how you buy. There’s multiple statements to say how to skin that cat.”
