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THIERRY HENRY BACKS SWEDISH TAKE OVER OF ARSENAL

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Legendry former Arsenal player, Thierry Henry has thrown his weight behind the club’s takeover bid by Spotify chief executive and founder Daniel Ek os sweden.

Hear him:

“When we knew first and foremost that he wanted to involve the fans, exactly what we talked about, we actually met the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust and told them what we wanted to do – bring them back on board, being part of the meetings, knowing what’s happening, because you’ve got to put the DNA back into the club. The golden share that I’m talking about.

“Daniel is an honest man, transparent. Fans want to know what might happen at their club. We had a discussion with the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust and he was very open with them and he wants to be open.”

However, the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) has also stated its stand highlighting them as follow:

  • Fans to be given a greater role in the ownership and governance of the club.
  • Opportunity for supporters to own an equity stake in their club.
  • Fans should also have a greater say in how their club is run.
  • Fans having some form of voting rights, or “golden share”, that covers key custodian subjects such as the club entering new competitions and playing all home games in Islington.

In addition the AST stated: “The AST welcomed a recent approach from Daniel Ek and his consortium partners Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira, and that they said meeting us was a priority for them. A constructive meeting was held and we were encouraged to hear their commitment to making the role of fans central to their proposals. This is very welcome and we look forward to further dialogue.

“We will engage with anyone who has a serious proposal as it is important any current or future owner is aware of the importance of working with fans. We also continue to seek a constructive and meaningful dialogue with Stan and Josh Kroenke.

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“Our message to all of them is simple: Football needs to change. Arsenal needs to change

“The major change that must take place is for fans to be given a greater role in the ownership and governance of the club.”

As a result, it is expected that a fan-led review of football ownership will be chaired by Tracey Crouch MP, that will examine different ownership models and potential regulation against owners who fail to comply.

Ek has already attempted to make contact with KSE but has not received any response.

The current Arsenal ownership remain firm in their stance not to sell the club, but Swedish billionaire Ek has assured those close to him that he is “prepared” for a long battle ahead.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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