Football: Arsenal owner Kroenke rules out sale of the club

Arsenal fans stage a demonstration against the club's owner Stan Kroenke outside the Emirates stadium in London. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LONDON (REUTERS) - Arsenal owners Stan and Josh Kroenke said on Tuesday (April 27) they remain "100 per cent committed" to the Premier League club, are not selling any stake and have not received and will not entertain any offers.

Swedish billionaire Daniel Ek, chief executive officer and founder of music streaming service Spotify, said last week he would be interested in buying Arsenal if the club's under-fire American owners wanted to sell the north London outfit.

Arsenal were among six English clubs who signed up for the proposed European Super League project before withdrawing amid a storm of protest from fans, players and the British government.

Supporters protested against Kroenke's ownership outside Arsenal's Emirates Stadium before Friday's 1-0 defeat by Everton, which left the Gunners 10th in the standings, but Kroenke said any takeover talk is not welcome.

"In recent days, we have noted media speculation regarding a potential takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club," Kroenke said in a joint statement with his son and director Josh.

"We remain 100 per cent committed to Arsenal *and are not selling* any stake in the Club. We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer.

"Our ambition for Arsenal remains to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and our focus remains on improving our competitiveness on the pitch to achieve this."

Proposals for a partially closed Super League involving 12 of the top clubs in England, Spain and Italy collapsed last week.

Arsenal's involvement further alienated the fans who have protested against Kroenke's ownership on several occasions.

Last week, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Stan Kroenke, CEO Vinai Venkatesham and other figures at the club involved in the Super League plan had apologised to the players and himself.

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