Daniel Ek has doubled down on his desires to buy Arsenal in a fascinating interview.
The Spotify co-founder first expressed his interest in buying the club last Friday amid fan protests at the Kroenkes ownership of the Gunners in the aftermath of the decision to sign the team up to the European Super League without consultation of the playing staff, coaching staff or supporters.
Reports then emerged soon after that he would be seeking the help of club legends Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira to try and make the deal happen.
However, on Tuesday night Stan and Josh Kroenke released a statement claiming that the club was not up for sale and expressed their desire to invest this summer.
That does not seem to have put off Ek though who claimed in an insightful interview with CNBC that he has the funds to buy Arsenal and will be looking to submit an offer very soon.
You can read every word he had to say about the Gunners in the full transcript below.
How much do you want Arsenal and can you get it?
Well you know I've been an Arsenal fan since I was 8. Arsenal is my team, I love the history, I love the players and of course I love the fans. So, as I look at that I just see a tremendous opportunity to set a real ambition for the club to bring it back to it’s glory.
I wanna establish trust with fans and I wanna engage with fans again. So to answer your question I'm very serious. I’ve secured the funds for it and I want to bring what I think is a very compelling offer to the owners. I hope they hear me out.
The Kroenkes don’t seem to be interested in selling though. You can’t do anything to pressure them into that despite what the fanbase say and they’ve made it clear they’re not seller.
Yeah but you know as I started out saying I’ve been a fan for 30 years of this club and I certainly didn’t expect that this would happen overnight. I'm prepared that this could be a long journey. All I can do is prepare, what I think is a very thoughtful offer and bring it to them and hope they hear me out.
What do you make of the Kroenke’s ownership. It seems like this is just an asset for them. Doesn’t that gall you? Doesn’t that make you feel angry?
I just focus on the club I focus on the fans and I focus on trying to bring the club back to glory. As you said I’m first and foremost a fan that’s the most important thing for me and I want the club to do better that’s my primary interest.
