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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta makes Stan Kroenke takeover request amid £5.5bn Man City empire interest

Adam Williams

Tue 7 January 2025 13:30, UK

Arsenal and Manchester City’s rivalry has defined the past two seasons in the Premier League and, for many, is a proxy battle for the ‘red cartel’ against ‘blue cartel’ row.

The Gunners finished 2nd to four-in-a-row champions Man City in 2022-23 and 2023-24, two campaigns which have taken place against the backdrop of civil darkening the corridors of Premier League HQ.

The centrepiece of the behind-the-drama has been City’s fight against the 115 financial chargesꦓ levelled at them by the Premier League, of course.

The case at the International Dispute Resolution Centre has concluded, with the independent commission – which was appointed by Arsenal fan Murray Rosen KC – having retired to consider its verdict.

⛎If found guilty of any or all charges, City’s defence – which, incidentally, is being spearheaded by Lord David Pannick, who also happens to be an Arsenal fan – will be entitled to appeal.

🍃Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, the bloc which the more conspiratorially minded on social media have labelled the ‘red cartel, have reserved the right to seek compensation if City lose the case.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	19	14	4	1	47	19	28	46
2	ArsenalArsenal	20	11	7	2	39	18	21	40
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	20	12	4	4	29	19	10	40
4	ChelseaChelsea	20	10	6	4	39	24	15	36
5	NewcastleNewcastle	20	10	5	5	34	22	12	35
6	Man CityManchester City	20	10	4	6	36	27	9	34

ღBut that is far from the only corporate drama that has gripped English football and seen Arsenal and City, card-carrying members of the so-called ‘blue cartel’, butt heads in recent seasons.

City’s challenge to the Premier League’s APT🍰 (Associated Party Transaction) Rules had the support of the likes of Newcastle and Chelsea, but Arsenal were one of a handful of clubs to give evidence against them.

🌌Arsenal have also repeatedly expressed concern about the Abu Dhabi state’s involvement at the Etihad.

Arsenal vs Man City head-to-head since Mikel Arteta appointed

෴City’s riposte has been to point out that Arsenal’s biggest sponsorship deal and the name above the door at their home ground is Emirates, a state-owned airline from the UAE.

𒈔In slightly more tawdry matters, Arsenal executives allegedly walked out 2023-24 PFA Awards night before Phil Foden collected his 2023-24 Player of the Year award, prompting indignation from City chiefs.

Whether by osmosis from the higher-ups or simply a result of their sporting rivalry, Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola’s🍷 sides have had their share stormy encounters on the pitch too.

The 2-2 draw in September, a match whose build up was dominated by ‘dark arts-gate’, was a fiery clash that saw Leandro Trossard sent off and 🐬Erling Haaland infamously telling Arteta to “stay humble.”

🌜After City scored the last-gasp equaliser to end all last-gasp equalisers, Arsenal vice-chair Tim Lewis was seen refusing to shake hands with his City counterparts in the Etihad Stadium’s directors’ suite.

ওSo, unlike many conflicts in modern football, this is not an artificially manufactured rivalry. It it is felt deeply by club staff, players and fans alike.

๊But there is also respect in N7 for what City have achieved in football over the last decade – how could there not be?

🌸Reverence for the sporting project overseen by Abu Dhabi United Group and Silver Lake in Manchester was the very reason they poached Arteta, then Guardiola’s assistant, from 2022-23 treble winners.

🦋Now, Arteta appears to be angling for even more of a Man City-style approach in North London.

• READ MORE: ꦍStan Kroenke has ‘extraordinary vision’ as Arsenal plan to blast £500m on 80,000 Emirates expansion

Mikel Arteta wants Stan Kroenke to take over a new club

Stan Kroenke’s💫 sports empire is, by most estimations, the second most valuable in the world.

🔴He owns eight sports franchises worldwide, with a vast property empire folded into it. In total, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is believed to be worth £12.5bn.

Franchises owned by Stan Kroenke

🌄As well as Arsenal, the Missouri-born billionaire also owns MLS side the Colorado Rapids.

𒁃Rapids are one of the least valuable football franchises in the United States and their fans have adopted the ‘Silent Stan’ moniker for their owner, which has also been used at Arsenal due to his laissez-faire approach.

🎉However, Mikel Arteta has now suggested he wants the 77-year-old to buy another new club in order to form a multi-club network, an ownership model which is very much in vogue.

As quoted by the , the Spaniard said: “[The multi-club model] is something that a lot of clubs have at the moment.

“So, that restriction in the country has provoked that many other clubs have now, like sister clubs or multi-club systems to be able to do that.

“So, looking ahead in the future it’s something basically to explore because obviously with the actual system it’s very, very difficult.

“Every club is very different in the way that they are set up and the clubs that they have picked are various.

“But in our way, it’s obviously a decision from our ownership and the board to understand what is the best thing for the club in the future.”

Man City and Red Bull’s multi-club models

Without a doubt, the biggest and most-followed examples of multi-club ownership are Man City’s City Football Group and the Red Bull network.

♏In recent years, a number of private equity-backed firms such as 777 Partners have tried and failed to replicate their success.

ꦡIn January, Arsenal will take on City Football Group part-owned Spanish side Girona in the Champions League, a major success story of the multi-club model.

🧸More then half of the clubs in this season’s top European competition are part of some form of multi-club umbrella, including Red Bull’s Salzburg and RB Leipzig.

👍Domestically, the energy drinks monopolisers are now minority investors in Leeds United, as well as having gone on a virtually unprecedented sponsorship drive, recruiting six Premier League clubs.

• READ MORE: ꦓLiverpool and Arsenal set for multi-million payout after FSG and Stan Kroenke win £99m battle

Why does Arteta want a multi-club model at Arsenal and who could KSE buy?

♉There are commercial, strategic-regulatory, and sporting reasons that Arsenal might enter the multi-club racket.

🐟For Arteta, it appears his angle is on the footballing advantages that can be gained via the model.

🃏With multi-club ownership, the mothership – Arsenal, in this case – can implement an underlying football culture throughout the network and park players at subsidiary clubs until they are ready for the big time.

ꦗThis would also help Arsenal recruit Europe’s best rising stars, as English clubs are unable to sign players under-18 under post-Brexit rules.

꧃Had this been the case in 2003, the Gunners wouldn’t have been able to sign Cesc Fabregas for their academy.

꧟However, a multi-club operation could have seen him sign for an Arsenal-owned club in the EU before turning 18 and becoming eligible for the move from Barcelona to North London.

ꦺThe most likely targets therefore are European clubs playing in leagues in the FA’s Tier 2 bracket, where would-be signings could pick up the necessary points under post-Brexit system to join Arsenal.

༺That includes the Portuguese Primeira Liga, Eredivisie, Belgian First Division A, the Turkish Super Lig.