Arsenal were ninth in the Premier League when Mikel Arteta revealed that Stan Kroenke had apologised to him for attempting to join the European Super League. For many, this was the last straw.
Kroenke was one of a number of senior figures and owners at the six clubs who had agreed to breakaway from English football. He could hardly have picked a worse time.
Arsenal were on their way to consecutive eighth-placed finishes - the worst for more than 20 years. The last time the club were lower for two years in a row was back in the mid-1970s.
Apathy had set in after the Unai Emery experiment failed. Residue and long-term resentment over the handling of Arsene Wenger's prolonged exit remained. Kroenke, now into his 10th season since taking majority control of the club, was feeling the heat.
He had never been a particularly public face of Arsenal for the Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) ownership. That diminished even more over the pandemic and by the time the Super League fiasco played out, the sense that most owners, not just Kroenke, were too far removed from the community and club feel of their teams to really care about matchgoing supporters was rife.
The disconnect in English football between those who are fans and lovers (consumers in the eyes of the suits at the top) and those who actually get to run the game had maybe never been bigger. Kroenke, an American real estate tycoon, was squarely seen as part of this.
In a new series from football.london, the 77-year-old and his role at the club, as well his other ventures, will be analysed and explained. Starting this week and continuing every Tuesday, Kroenke's position at Arsenal will be under the microscope. But how did it get to this current state?
Even before his 2011 share increase, Arsenal had prioritised stability during the stadium move and subsequent years paying for it. Then, under Kroenke the club fell behind their rivals.
Arsenal hit their banter era. They entered the Super League having been out of the Champions League for four years at the time. The notion of a top six was almost laughable when West Ham and Leicester City finished above Tottenham and Arsenal at the end of that season. Leicester won the FA Cup and have lifted a major trophy more recently than Arsenal.
Discontent had grown. The Emirates Stadium was an unhappy place to be. The nadir of matters, if not the Super League moment, had come just over 12 months earlier when Mikel Arteta took over and came perilously close to losing almost all of the fanbase.
If he had o't been a former player and an extremely popular one at that, then things might just have got even messier. As it happens, Arsenal have been transformed. It is hard to pinpoint exactly how or why.
Arteta and Edu Gaspar led a total gutting of the club's senior players, replacing them with young talent, unleashing potential. Recruitment was streamlined and the board plus directors were altered. They turned to buying further down the food chain (even if the cost was still high - £50million for Ben White and £30million for Aaron Ramsdale were not cheap deals), and cleared out those who did not align with the new vision. It took time and there were definite bumps in the road, but it has worked.
The whole first half of the 2021/22 season left the club teetering on the brink. Kroenke was perennially on the verge of mutiny. Arsenal came through the tunnel and onto the other side, though.
A fifth-place finish and a serious push for the top four generated optimism. Maybe the transfer risk would work. Maybe Arteta had found his feet at this level. Maybe Kroenke had overseen a restructure to change everything.
Stan Kroenke attends Arsenal's Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain in October.
Stan Kroenke attends Arsenal's Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain in October. (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
It is easy, now, to say this. But just how much did Kroenke actually do? It is his son, Josh, who really had the day-to-day impact. He was at the training ground and spoke with Arteta and Edu. He was promoted to vice chairman and became a visible member of the hierarchy.
How does this reflect on Kroenke Sr? A lot of this is unknown. Is delegating to Josh a masterplan or is that confirmation bias? His presence in England is low-key and infrequent. Is he really pulling the strings from Stateside or is the operation running itself now after being allowed to settle? Did this happen because of Kroenke or in spite of him?
Maybe it doesn't matter. Arsenal are having their best period of sustained challenging at the very top since the early 2000s when they actually won things. On a footballing level there is still a step to be taken by Arteta and it will now fall on Andrea Berta to try and build a squad capable of lifting silverware rather than getting to within touching distance of it.
Arsenal are back at the top table again, regardless, and that seemed impossible when Kroenke was apologising for almost playing a part in the collapse of the English football pyramid. Was this really the turning point for him? Do fans actually care if the team is winning on the pitch?
The answer to these questions will differ on a personal level. What can be said for certain is that Arsenal are a very different club to the one Kroenke nearly pulled into the Super League in 2021 and they are worlds apart from the one he invested in 20 years ago.
History tends to be kind to those who win, which bodes well for Kroenke. The Super League debacle will forever be an unforgettable cloud for his ownership, though, and the writing of the records will differ depending on how much you think he has been responsible for the improvement.
In a footballing landscape now dominated more and more by those at the top of clubs, whether it is the owner, directors, or others, it would be simple for Kroenke to claim the plaudits for what has happened. Arsenal supporters do not seem to reflect on him in this way at all. That perhaps tells the full story.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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