By PA Sport staff
Arsenal’s owners remain “100 per cent committed” to the club and will not entertain any offers to sell, with Spotify founder Daniel Ek considering a takeover bid.
Swedish billionaire Ek last week sent a tweet saying he would be interested in purchasing the Premier League club, which is owned by Stan Kroenke through his Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) business.
It was reported on Monday that Ek, 38, had begun to make inquiries over the weekend into the viability of a takeover bid and that former Gunners players Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira were all on board as part of his plan.
But any potential deal looks to have been scuppered following a staunch response from the Gunners’ American ownership, who say they have not received any bids.
“In recent days we have noted media speculation regarding a potential takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club,” read a KSE statement.
“We remain 100 per cent committed to Arsenal *and are not selling* any stake in the club.
“We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer.”
Arsenal were one of six Premier League clubs to sign up for a breakaway European Super League before quickly withdrawing as the project collapsed.
That sparked fresh protests against Kroenke’s ownership, with thousands of disgruntled supporters marching on the Emirates Stadium ahead of Friday’s top-flight defeat to Everton.
“Our ambition for Arsenal remains to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and our focus remains on improving our competitiveness on the pitch to achieve this,” concluded the statement.
The Gunners are 10th in the Premier League with five games remaining, 12 points outside the top four.
The defeat to Everton was their seventh in 17 top-flight games at the Emirates this season.
Mikel Arteta’s team are in the semi-finals of the Europa League and play the first leg of their tie against Villarreal in Spain on Thursday.
