Arsenal's 'Gang of Four' have voted to extend by 12 months their agreement not to sell their shares.

The earliest former vice-chairman David Dein and Russian billionaire business partner Alisher Usmanov could get their hands on any of the big four's 45 per cent holding would be April 2009.

Danny Fiszman, Lady Bracewell-Smith, Richard Carr and chairman Peter Hill-Wood agreed six months ago not to consider selling their shares for at least a year. Now they have voted to extend the deal. Fiszman, who owns 24 per cent, told The Sun: "It's simple, in principle I'm not a seller.

"There is a new agreement being written that will extend the agreement. No hostile takeover bid will be successful.

"We're in a very strong financial situation and if our manager Arsene Wenger wanted to spend £100million on players, he could."