With the club's board on red alert for a takeover raid from Uzbek mining billionaire Alisher Usmanov, directors are working on building a stronger relationship with the Denver sports team owner. They indicated last night that Kroenke would be welcome at the meeting.
Although Arsenal's managing director, Keith Edelman, said on Monday that he still does not know what Kroenke's intentions are, the fact that he is now considering such a high-profile appearance at the annual meeting is a clear sign of his backing. Sources said it showed that rather than launch a takeover he was prepared to bide his time as a long-term investor.
