Mikel Arteta convinced Stan Kroenke has silenced critics after Arsenal outspend ALL Premier League rivals in last year
MIKEL ARTETA is convinced that Stan Kroenke has silenced all the critics who wanted him out of Arsenal.
Thousands of Gunners protested outside the Emirates a year ago demanding that Kroenke sell the club to Spotify owner Daniel Ek in a £2billion takeover deal.
They were furious at the club’s bungled attempts to sign up for a European Super League and blamed the absent American owner for their team’s failure to challenge for the Premier League title.
Yet Arteta has remained fiercely loyal to the controversial billionaire and insists recent events have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kroenke is the right man to take Arsenal forward.
And his latest talks with the man known as ‘Silent Stan’ have confirmed that belief.
Kroenke and his son Josh both travelled from Denver to watch Wednesday’s 3-1 win against Orlando City and oversee the signing of £32million Oleksandr Zinchenko.
It means Kroenke has sanctioned £270million of new signings over the past year, more than any other Premier League team over that period.
He also gave the green light for Arteta to sign a new three-year contract in May despite Champions League qualification still being in the balance with four games of the season remaining.
Ahead of this evening’s pre-season clash with Chelsea, Arteta said: “I’ve been really impressed with the owners.
“The perception that people had of them has completely changed and that is down to the facts and their acts.
Most read in Football
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST NEW CUSTOMER SIGN UP DEALS
“They were here for two days this week and we had a lot of time to sit down in a really relaxed way to talk about football and the sport in general.
“The vision they have, their commitment and level of understanding of the sport is fascinating.
“I have never seen ownership at that level so fully committed and engaged to bringing this club to where we want.
“It’s one thing for the owners to be here. It’s something else completely to be here in the way they were.
“I guarantee you that they are really looking forward to taking this club to the top.”
I am really happy with the business we have done so far
Mikel Arteta
Arteta had flown to Denver in January to discuss his long term Arsenal ambitions with Kroenke, who also owns the LA Rams, the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Rapids and a number of other sports franchises.
It was then that Arteta identified many of his summer transfer targets which has led to the recent signings of Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos and Matt Turner.
He explains: “If you look at where we are spending the money, we have made big investments to bring about this transition moment.
“But it is investment for the future with huge talent and the possibility to have a squad that can sustainably be financed by itself in the future.
“I am really happy with the business we have done so far. We are pretty far in our plans and everything is going really well.
Read More on The Sun
“The players we are bringing in have the right winning mentality so they can inspire others and push the boat faster.
“So now it’s about finalising what we wanted to do and we will keep trying to improve the team for sure.”