Arsenal: Mikel Arteta endorsement of Stan Kroenke more than nothing

Arsenal fans won’t be happy that Mikel Arteta has endorsed Stan Kroenke, but what Arteta says needs to be taken seriously.

It used to be that every Arsenal fan hated Stan Kroenke and blamed him for everything that was wrong with the club. Just imagine what Arsenal could have done under Arsene Wenger if Kroenke had flooded him with cash, right?

Honestly, that hasn’t changed. It’s still the case that all shortcomings are blamed on Kroenke. Especially nowadays, since Arteta is such an immediate favorite among the fans. Any flaws must be Kroenke, because who else would be at fault?

However, Arteta went and did something that won’t please a lot of fans when he said that Stan Kroenke had fully endorsed and backed him and that Arteta feels 100% supported by Stan, the board, all of them.

Now, some of you may say that this is just Arteta protecting his job, and there’s certainly some validity in that. He can’t be out here complaining about his boss when he’s failed to pull the club out of the midfield.

Even with the long-term being a clear picture, it’s not a smart thing to do.

But this is more than just blowing smoke up Kroenke’s arse. Whatever you think went on between Wenger and Kroenke, clearly they had an alright relationship because it worked out for so long and Wenger did something remarkable in his guidance of the club. Kroenke had a part to play in all of that.

And he will have a part to play in Arteta’s successes. This doesn’t mean that he floods the club with cash so we can buy everyone we’ve always wanted. That’s not how Liverpool had their success either. They were just fiscally responsible, which is what Kroenke wants from his club. Like it or not, he’s a businessman who doesn’t want to lose money on his companies. That’s not a character flaw and that’s not a crippling blow to the club.

What Arteta is saying here is what fans need to know. Kroenke isn’t the villain. He never was. He never will be. He funds the club and gets the hell out of the way. That’s not a bad thing, but if you want to know the alternative, check out Roman Abramovitch.

Everyone needs a scapegoat, and Kroenke has been the ultimate scapegoat. But in the same way that Arteta is proving everyone wrong about Xhaka, another common scapegoat, he can hopefully do the same for Kroenke. But I doubt that.