Arsenal: Is Stan Kroenke Redeeming Himself?

Arsenal’s silent majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has long been cast as the villain at Arsenal, but this summer, he has held nothing back. Is he changing?

They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. And given Stan Kroenke’s long history of using his sports teams as cash cows, I’m not wholly convinced that he has learned anything new. However, there are some signs that Kroenke may have loosened up his purse strings a bit (yes, he wears a purse).

First of all, let me point out what he recently did with another one of his teams, the Colorado Rapids. With the team consistently struggling in MLS, Kroenke’s American side purchased a handful of not-so-cheap, veteran players that are making all the difference. They landed Shkelzen Gashi, Marco Pappa, Kevin Doyle and Jermaine Jones, all in the span of a year.

That is a hefty chunk of change and it has pushed them to the top of MLS’s standings. Seeing that made me wonder if Kroenke might not do the same with Arsenal.

Well, thus far into the summer, it’s looking like he might be doing just that.

“Stan Kroenke is completely behind myself and the board investing as much money as we want.” That is what Arsene Wenger said going into this summer. He had never publicly blamed Kroenke for lack of funds before, but to hear something like this essentially put all the pressure on Kroenke. If Arsenal didn’t buy, it would be his fault.

Completely on cue, Arsenal purchased Granit Xhaka and reportedly now Jamie Vardy as well, filling two massive holes in Arsenal’s squad before the window even opens. And it wasn’t cheap. While £50m+ isn’t the biggest spending spree in the world, it is a big deal for Arsenal, and all signs point towards there being more purchases before the summer runs its course.

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As such, the “Wenger Out!” cries have died down to a dull roar and Arsenal supporters look to be basking in the purchases Le Prof is making.

But by that standard, doesn’t some of the credit go to Stan Kroenke? It gives me goosebumps to say that, because I have no love for the man myself, being a native St. Louisan, but considering the circumstances, there has to be a bit of credit that goes to the American business tycoon.

In previous years, we blamed Wenger and by extension, ended up blaming Kroenke as well. He did, after all, have the most money in the team.

So now that signings are being made and, at Wenger’s own admission, some of those signings can be tied directly to Kroenke’s new and improved investment policy, surely ‘Silent Stan’ deserves a pat on the back as well.

Kroenke’s increase to a 67% holding in Arsenal may have some correlation as well, although there is no way for us to confirm that.

Club CEO Ivan Gazidis has also stood and defended Kroenke, mirroring Wenger’s words: “What we have is an owner who has been nothing but supportive, for me, for Arsene.”

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It is hard to stand by those comments in the past, at least not 100%, but this summer, with Wenger having opened up about Kroenke’s investments, along with the example in Colorado, it may be that the Darth Vader of the Arsenal world has started to return to the good side.