Josh Kroenke apologises to Arsenal supporters over Gunners’ role in European Super League

Josh Kroenke and Vinai Venkatesham have faced a grilling from furious Arsenal fans following the club’s role in the disastrous European Super League, with the son of owner Stan Kroenke insisting the club will not be sold despite being told to ‘leave’ by supporters. 

The Gunners were one of 12 European clubs to sign up for the JP Morgan-backed breakaway league that led to widespread backlash from fans, pundits and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 

Such was the ferocity of the discontent with the scheme that all six Premier League clubs involved in the ploy, including Arsenal, withdrew from the plot a mere 48 hours after announcing their participation. 

Arsenal were understood to be one of the driving forces behind the breakaway league, alongside the American owners of Liverpool and Manchester United as well as Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

Arsenal chief Vinai Venkatesham and Josh, son of billionaire American owner Stan, faced the music on Thursday afternoon at a virtual fans’ forum, and gave their version of events that saw them involved in the scheme that Perez claimed would ‘save football’.

‘Arsenal were not the authors of this proposal, despite what many think,’ Venkatesham said via Red Action Gooners. ‘On this project the train was leaving the station, we made the decision to join. We made a bad decision, a terrible one.’  

Kroenke added that the Gunners feared missing out on the JP Morgan-backed £4.6bn project and felt compelled to join, before admitting that he misunderstood the fans.  

‘We asked ourselves: “what is worse : ESL, or ESL without Arsenal?”‘ Kroenke said. ‘[We] also asked ourselves: “what do the fans want?” The global fan wants AFC v Barca as often as possible. 

‘English fans want to see more big matches, but you still want your cold nights in Stoke. We got it wrong.’   

However, Gunners fans were left unconvinced by the pair, with one fan demanding whether the ownership truly understand English football, before asking them to leave the club.   

‘Do you not understand English football, you do not interact with fans, you have no clue, English football is clearly not for you, you should leave,’ the supporter said.

Kroenke responded that the episode has been ‘an education on the power of Arsenal fans’, but maintained that the club will not be sold. 

‘We have big plans to invest, we have plans, we want to be great again, but a long term model does not support long term high investment. [We have] no intention of selling,’ he said. 

Another fan stuck the boot in, insisting that Arsenal fans have ‘never trusted’ the ownership under Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE), and Kroenke said that he wants to return to England’s capital city to help repair that relationship.

‘I want to get back to London, I want to do this. I am aware we never had trust, we need to build a bridge, we will.’ 

The seismic fallout from the disastrous Super League plot has resulted in reports that one owner of the Premier League six is considering selling up, but Kroenke stressed that the Gunners’ chiefs are looking to ‘rebuild’, reiterating that they were pressured into the predicament they find themselves in.

‘We will rebuild, we believe we are fit to go forward with AFC,’ he said. ‘We were put in a difficult situation by sources outside the Club’. 

Not only have those clubs involved in the scheme destroyed their relationship with their fans, but so too have they damaged their connections with the ‘other’ 14 Premier League clubs, who were left dismayed by the betrayal.

The representatives of the rebel clubs that had enjoyed a seat at the Premier League table have now been kicked out due to their deceit, and Venkatesham said that he has contacted every club to apologise for Arsenal’s role in the breakaway league.

‘We made a terrible decision, now we need to make good ones,’ he said. ‘I have been in touch with all other 14 Premier League clubs to apologise for our part in this. We are working hard to rebuild our reputation.’ 

Sportsmail reported on Tuesday that clubs withdrawing from the European Super League will be made to pay huge exit fees having signed 23-year contracts to join the group, buying equity stakes worth £8m each.

Kroenke confirmed that KSE will cover the costs of the exit fees, not Arsenal Football Club, while Venkatesham added that the penalty is lower than the reported £8m. 

The chiefs’ public appearance follows on from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s hailing the actions of supporters in halting the plans that would have drastically changed the landscape of European football.

‘I think this has given big lessons and it shows the importance of football in the world. And it shows that the soul of this sport belongs to the fans – and that’s it,’ he said.

‘During this pandemic, for a year, we have been trying to sustain this industry with no fans in the stadium.

‘But, when the fans have to come out and talk, they’ve done it really loud and clear, and they sent probably the strongest message that has ever been sent in the football world.

Arteta also revealed that he had received an apology from Stan Kroenke over the club’s role in the £4.6bn scheme.