Aliko Dangote has been linked with a takeover of Arsenal for some time.
The Nigerian billionaire has made many statements about his desire to one day own the Gunners.
And the richest man in Africa has indicated that he will be looking to follow through on his hopes of taking over in North London in the near future.
The Gunners' current owner Stan Kroenke has proved unpopular with fans since taking over at the Emirates Stadium, with a lack of investment in the squad coupled with poor returns on the pitch when compared to rivals in recent years.
With that in mind, here we take a look at how Dangote has positioned himself to potentially take over at Arsenal.
Past comments
Dangote - the 88th richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index - has spoken about becoming Arsenal's owner on multiple occasions.
In June 2015, Dangote admitted he was interested in buying Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s 15.9 per cent stake in 2011, which were eventually purchased by Stan Kroenke
"There were a couple of us who were rushing to buy, and we thought with the prices then, the people who were interested in selling were trying to go for a kill.
"We backtracked, because we were very busy doing other things, especially our industrialisation.
"When we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough resources to pay what they are asking for."
In September 2016, he stated that a takeover would be a question of timing rather than money.
"It's not about buying Arsenal and just continuing with business as usual," Dangote said.
"It’s about buying Arsenal and turning it around. I've run a very successful business and I think I can also run a very successful team. Right now, with what we’re facing, over $20 billion of projects, I cannot do both.
"There's no doubt [I'll buy Arsenal], it's not a problem of money
"The issue is that we have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out the way first and start having tailwinds. Then I'll focus on this."
In August 2017, he reiterated his desire.
"I don't want to go after Arsenal until I deliver the refinery. Once I deliver, I will go after Arsenal.
"At the moment we are a little bit off track. We didn't really realise that we were going to need almost 70 million cubic meters of sand. But we are catching up, and I'm sure we’ll be able to deliver it by the last quarter of 2017."
And in January 2020, he stated once more that when his current business interests are concluded, he will move on to the Gunners.
"It is a team that yes I would like to buy some day, but what I keep saying is we have $20billion worth of projects and that's what I really want to concentrate on. I'm trying to finish building the company and then after we finish, maybe some time in 2021 we can.
"I'm not buying Arsenal right now, I'm buying Arsenal when I finish all these projects, because I'm trying to take the company to the next level."
How much it will cost
Bob Ratcliffe, who is head of the football division for Ineos - owners of Ligue 1 side Nice - has revealed how much it would currently cost to take over a Premier League club.
Ratcliffe told the Financial Times' Business of Football Summit that a takeover of a 'top six' club would cost at least £2billion.
Meanwhile, a move for a team elsewhere in the Premier League would cost between £150million and £350million.
He added that: "They're all for sale."
Refinery
The move towards Dangote's goal has taken another big step, with the news that Dangote Refinery will be opening a $2billion (£1.54billion) fertiliser plant in May.
Dangote says that the pre-testing of the plant has already begun, and it will become the largest fertiliser plant in the world.
When tallied with his 2017 comments - "I don't want to go after Arsenal until I deliver the refinery. Once I deliver, I will go after Arsenal" - the Gunners could be tantalisingly close to getting a new owner.
