Arsenal are on a similar path to Kroenke’s Denver Nuggets

KSE have endured bitter criticism from fans throughout their 16-year Arsenal association, but the Denver Nuggets’ recent NBA triumph suggests our patience could soon result in a similarly lucrative reward.   

Monday night saw the Kroenke-owned franchise edge out Miami Heat to claim their first championship since their 1967 foundation. As owners of other sports teams like the LA Rams and Colorado Avalanche, the Nuggets’ win marks a third major KSE achievement in as many years and the blueprint followed is strikingly reminiscent of the one currently being executed in north London.

https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1669924888344231936

After 20 years of negligible impact in the basketball stakes, KSE finally transformed the Nuggets’ fortunes by building around a young core (namely Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray and star man Nikola Jokic) and hiring a coach (Michael Malone) who they believed would successfully expedite their development – sound familiar?

Their competitive ambitions were repeatedly trashed in media circles, and poor finishes in 2018, 2019 & 2022 served to justify such low expectations. However, Malone used his brilliant management style to help them scale new heights and the Nuggets now hope to assemble some squad depth in the upcoming draft, as well as tie their youthful talent down to extensions – just as Mikel Arteta has done at Arsenal.

Arsenal and the Denver Nuggets: are KSE leading us along the same path to success?

Owing partly to recognisable KSE stubbornness against fan unrest, both the Gunners and the Nuggets are benefitting from an often questioned, data-driven approach to recruitment alongside our owners’ apparent eye for shrewd operators like Arteta and Malone to run their sporting interests.

Arsenal are one of only two Premier League sides to increase their points tally in each of the last three campaigns, and a dramatic climb up the table last term indicates that, as we have witnessed in Denver, another summer of astute business will see the club’s arduous project progress once more and finally reach its long-coveted destination.

It is unusual in the modern era for owners to choose the long-term route over immediate results, and bottomless resources at rival teams mean supporters are perhaps justified in voicing concerns about such a measured, financially prudent strategy.

However, the ‘process’ route is now reaping Kroenke’s great success across the pond and a near miss last season hints at Arsenal being on a similar trajectory. KSE might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it seems they know what they are doing.