Arsenal takeover: Thierry Henry reiterates Spotify owner Daniel Ek is ‘here to stay’ as potential new owner
Thierry Henry has underlined to Sky Sports that Daniel Ek remains fully committed to buying Arsenal but that the Kroenke family are yet to respond to their offer.
Ek, who was in the stands to watch Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Tottenham on Super Sunday, wrote to owner Stan Kroenke in May and made a bid of £1.8bn for the north London club that remains on the table.
The Spotify owner is confident Kroenke will listen to the offer – which he considers to be a compelling one – and has the full backing of Henry and fellow Arsenal legends Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp.
Henry, who won four major trophies including two Premier League titles at the club, revealed there is no dialogue at the moment but is adamant that an agreement can be reached regardless of the Kroenkes’ stance that the club is not for sale.
“To be able to get there, you need to have someone respond on the other side,” Henry told Monday Night Football. “It hasn’t happened yet, but we and he is here to stay.
“So, let’s see what’s going to happen. But for the moment, we enjoyed the win yesterday.
“There’s no dialogue at the moment and I feel it’s going to be a long process. I said this the last time I was on the show [in May]. How long it’s going to be, I don’t actually know.
“But we are here to stay.”
Henry previously stated that Ek’s priority is to re-establish Arsenal’s identity – which the Frenchman feels has been lost under the Kroenkes – by handing power back to the supporters and reintroducing people who know the club’s traditions to the board.
Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer has discussed potentially using a “golden-share” scheme, which could give supporter groups the power to reject board decisions.
Speaking to Sky Sports in May, Henry said: “I know a lot of people wanted to hear about [the takeover].
“It is true. Daniel is an Arsenal fan, he didn’t say it for any publicity. He is an Arsenal fan for a very long time.
“He already – I’ll give you something – reached out [to the Kroenkes] and already said himself that he had collected the funds to make sure that he can put in a good bid.
“They now need to listen. A lot of people have been screaming that they want the owner out. We are trying to offer a solution involving the fans and getting the DNA of the club back.
“There needs to be a discussion, but he reached out.”
He added: “I think it is going to be long and not easy – if it does ever happen. One thing that I want to reiterate is that Daniel will not move away, he will be there waiting to see if they want to sell.
“That is going to take a very long time, we know what we want to do, but first and foremost we need to make sure that we can take over, if they are listening.”
