Arsenal round-up: Kroenke on club sale; Conte makes Gunners favourites; Vidal urges Bayern to sign Sanchez

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Stan Kroenke has confirmed that he doesn’t want to sell his shares in Arsenal after Alisher Usmanov’s offer to buy him out. The US tycoon has always remained clear in his message that he isn’t interested in selling the club and that hasn’t changed over the course of recent months. The Mirror understand that he believes that the club can win trophies and be successful under his stewardship. The following statement from Kroenke Sports and Entertainment was quoted in the article:

“KSE UK, Inc notes the recent media speculation concerning its shareholding in Arsenal Holdings PLC and confirms its shares are not, and never have been, for sale.

“KSE is a committed, long term investor in Arsenal and will remain so.”

The supporters have been clear on social media that they would like Kroenke to sell to Usmanov as they think that will give them a greater chance of success. The current owner has been criticised for showing a lack of ambition in the transfer market, while the unwavering support in Arsene Wenger hasn’t gone down well among the majority of the fan-base. There were audible chants of ‘Stan Kroenke, get out of our club’ during Sunday’s win over Everton and the anger could grow over the summer.

The league season may now be over, but the Gunners have one more match to play as they will be competing in the FA Cup final against Chelsea. It will be expected that the Blues will win next weekend to complete the double given they have been far better than Arsenal over the course of this season. However, Antonio Conte has claimed that it is Arsene Wenger’s men that are favourites to lift the trophy, putting the pressure on the opposition ahead of the match. His comments yesterday have been reported by the Independent:

“If you ask me who you think the favourites are now, I think it’s Arsenal,”

“They only have this possibility to find a good season after a win in the FA Cup. For this reason, we must find motivation and find in ourselves the right anger. The game will be very difficult, above all for this reason.”

These comments show a clear mind game from Conte as he attempts to take the pressure off his own players. He is right in saying that Arsenal need to win the match to save their season, but Chelsea have been the best team in the country this year and it is difficult to claim that they aren’t favourites to win the FA Cup next weekend.

Given that the regular season is nearly over, transfer speculation will ramp up over the coming weeks and one player that will be at the centre of those is Alexis Sanchez. He is approaching the final year of his current contract and it is difficult to see him staying at the Emirates Stadium for next season. His Chilean team-mate, Arturo Vidal, has urged his current club Bayern Munich to sign the forward. He told Sport:

“Bayern have asked me about Alexis and I’ve always told them that he is the player who should come here,’ 

“I would like Alexis at Bayern. He is doing well at Arsenal but I think he has to take a step up and fight with the best in the world.”

It would be a surprise if Arsenal manage to keep their top scorer as he should be playing in the Champions League and at the age of 28, he won’t be willing to sacrifice a season with the Gunners in the Europa League. There have also been signs that he is unhappy at the Emirates Stadium this season and the club can’t afford to lose him on a free next summer. A move abroad to a club like Bayern Munich could be the best for all parties, as he will increase his chances of winning trophies and Arsenal won’t have to sell him to a rival.

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