Alisher Usmanov: Friend or Foe?

Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire who has been rumored to be milling over a possible Arsenal takeover bid, has already lost the affection of many Arsenal fans. Usmanov's lawyers have coerced web hosting companies to take down sites including titles he finds offensive.

Craig Murray, former ambassador to Uzbekistan, has had his site taken down, as has Tim Ireland, the owner of Bloggerheads.com.

The hard man of Russia was already not popular amongst Arsenal fans who see him as someone in the same vein as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Usmanov has been warned not to attempt a hostile takeover bid by the Arsenal board of directors, but as the second largest shareholder at Arsenal, it seems that he may try anyways.

Personally, I don't want Usmanov anywhere near my club. 21% is already far too much to be in the hands of such a heavy handed man, and Usmanov could easily destroy the image of Arsenal as a pure footballing club. It seems that Usmanov views Arsenal as an investment rather than a soccer team, and it is for this reason that he does not belong. Thank god the board is unwilling to sell.

Arsene Wenger is doing fine with the funds that he was given, and even with minimal investment we now find ourselves at the top of the Premiership table. We are the second richest club in the world now and we don't need Usmanov's money - and we certainly don't need his attitude.

Huge Arsenal Turnover Prompts Arsenal Takeover

Arsenal have overtaken both Chelsea and Manchester United to become the second richest football club in the world, behind only Real Madrid. The move to the Emirates stadium is said to be responsible for £190 million gunners turnover for the 2006/07 season.

With the most expensive tickets in the Premiership, it is not too startling that Arsenal earn a massive £3.5 million a match at the 60,432 seat Emirates.

In such a successful club, it is unsurprising to hear that investors are willing to buy more shares. It should come as no surprise then that nearly perfectly coinciding with the announcement of Arsenal's turnover, came talk of an Arsenal takeover.

Alisher Usmanov's investment company, Red and White Holdings, recently bought David Dein's 14.58% share of the club, already prompting takeover talks. Usmanov has since then been buying small quantities of Arsenal shares, snapping up 271 shares soon after buying David Dein's holdings. Now it seems that he has bought more than 3% more of Arsenal's shares, bringing his total ownership to more than 18%, making him the second largest stockholder behind only Danny Fiszman.

Fiszman has declared (along with the rest of the Arsenal board) that he will not sell his 24% stake in the club, and the total holdings of the board (44%) will make it difficult for a hostile takeover to come through. However, Fiszman is not averse to meeting with Kroenke or Usmanov.

However, American businessman Stan Kroenke who owns a 12% stake in Arsenal could join forces with Usmanov, bringing their total ownership to 40%, enough to be obliged to launch a formal takeover bid.

Personally, I think that we are a financially stable club, and with Arsene Wenger's frugal hand in the transfer market, I can't see how a takeover would benefit us. Let's hope these takeover talks don't come true - we don't want foreign ownership like Manchester United and Chelsea.

David Dein sells his shares of Arsenal to Red and White

David Dein, the former vice-chairman of Arsenal, today held a press conference in which he stated that he had sold his 14.58% stake in the club to Red and White. Red and White, jointly owned by Russian businessman Aliser Ushmanov and London-based investor Farhad Moshiri, purchased the shares for £75million, and instated Dein as its chairman. Dein has reported that there is no "current intention" to mount a takeover bid, but there have reportedly been funds set aside by Red and White to purchase more shares of the club.

Dein, who had been an important figure at Arsenal prior to leaving the club, has said that this move does not mean that he is losing interest in the club.

"I have not lost my passion for the club; indeed, it is greater than ever. My ambition remains to play an active role in Arsenal again. My immediate intention is to work with others to provide the financial resources necessary to turn the vision of Arsenal as the world's number one club into reality."

Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman has stated that the board of directors (which together controls a 45% stake in the club) will hold firm to its earlier agreement that no stocks will be sold for a year after Dein's departure, and is confident that their share is enough to hold off any attempted takeover bid.

However, it is speculated that Red and White could team up with American billionaire Stan Kroenke who controls around 30% of the club. If they were to join together they would control a total almost equal to the 45% that the board shares. This would let them make some major decisions in the club, even though it would not be enough to launch a takeover.

I think that this move is a good one on Dein's part. First of all it will encourage Arsene Wenger to re-sign, as one of the major reasons for the rumors of his departure was the fact that Dein had left the club. If Dein and Kroenke (and Red and White) were to purchase Arsenal, it would be under foreign control, following the suit of many other major Premiership teams, including Manchester United and of course Chelsea. This would inject a large amount of cash into the clubs coffers and most definitely allow for some high-profile signings, although with Arsene at the helm, we are unlikely to buy anyone overpriced. I think overall, having David Dein back would make any takeover a good move for Arsenal.