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Football London
Football London
Sport
Jamie Kemble

Daniel Ek sets date for Arsenal takeover bid as Thierry Henry issues update amid firm KSE stance

Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek is poised to make an offer to buy Arsenal this week.

Arsenal fans have made their feelings towards ownership group KSE and Stan Kroenke very clear in recent weeks, particularly on the back of The Super League saga.

Kroenke put the Gunners forward as founding members of the new competition, which was wrapped up within 48 hours of being announced amid intense criticism.

That proved to be the final straw for many Arsenal fans, and thousands later protested against the current owners outside the Emirates Stadium.

And on the back of that, there was fresh hope for fans after Spotify co-founder and Swedish billionaire Ek declared his interest in the club he has supported since a boy.

Arsenal's Summer Transfer Approach

Ek has teamed up with Arsenal legends Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira to launch a takeover bid, and Sky Sports report there will be an official offer of £1.8billion by the end of this week.

That's understood to be around £200million under the current value of Arsenal, and KSE don't appear to be interested in selling up.

A recent statement read: "In recent days we have noted media speculation regarding a potential takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club. We remain 100% committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the Club.

"We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer.

"Our ambition for Arsenal remains to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and our focus remains on improving our competitiveness on the pitch to achieve this. Stan Kroenke and Josh Kroenke Kroenke, Sports & Entertainment."

Speaking about the bid to Sky Sports on Monday night, Henry said: "He (Ek) wants to reinject the Arsenal DNA, the identity that's gone.

"You don't have Arsenal people there among the board that can sometimes show the right direction and that is what Daniel wants to do.

"Daniel is an Arsenal fan - he hasn't said that for publicity, he has been an Arsenal fan for a long time."

He added: "We listened to him. When we knew first and foremost that he wanted to involve the fans, we actually met the Arsenal Supporters' Trust and told them what we wanted to do; bring them back on board.

"He already said he collected the funds so he can make sure he can make a good bid. Now obviously they need to listen and see what they can do.

"Something that is very important about it, saying they want the owner out, we are trying to offer a solution of having the fans as the DNA back of the club."

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