Alisher Usmanov is now being glorified in certain quarters within Arsenal’s supporters for holding out on his shares. The Uzbeki’s actions are seen as an intent to maintain plurality of ownership as a desirable option.
This revisionism ignores the fact it was Nina Bracewell Smith who refused Usmanov’s higher bid for her shares. He was offering her £1200 more per share an indication of his seriousness buying out the club. Which means if it had not been for her we would have been supporting Kroenke in preventing single ownership by someone with a hastily stuffed closet of skeletons. Usmanov’s call to KSE (Kroenke Sports Enterprise) to match his shares in AST’s fanshare program also seems to be a bit of opportunism.
Kroenke in the past has come out in support of small shareholders and has stated no plans to de-list the fanshare program. However, the AST will probably wait till they see more details of subject in KSE’s formal offer document.
For fans not otherwise interested in boardroom maneuvers, the big question is whether all this means more money for transfers. A sum of £40m is being mentioned. Which is peanuts compared to Chelsea and Man City but in keeping with Arsenal’s live within the means budgeting. I seriously doubt whether Kroenke’s takeover will affect the transfer budget all that match other than the odd big purchase- his US teams seem to reflect a desire for value for money.