Alisher Usmanov reportedly met his close advisers on Wednesday, discussing the options going forward in his attempts to take control of Arsenal.

The 63-year-old Uzbek-born Russian businessman is not willing to give up his desire to become the Gunners’ majority shareholder, despite his £1bn offer for Stan Kroenke’s 67% stake in the club being rejected recently.

A Sky Sports report has suggested that he’ll increase his attempts to buy Kroenke’s shares within the club, despite the American’s firm stance about his shares not being for sale.

The statement from Kroenke’s company read:

KSE UK, Inc notes the recent media speculation concerning its shareholding in Arsenal Holdings PLC and confirms that its shares are not, and never have been, for sale. KSE is a committed, long term investor in Arsenal and will remain so.

In an article we covered last week, it became clear that Usmanov was prepared to increase his offer by another billion. Whether or not that would force Kroenke to negotiate, remains to be seen but by his public statement, it’s unlikely that he will be tempted to sell despite supporter discontent at how the club is being run.

kroenke out
Arsenal supporters have progressively increased in numbers that have shown their disapproval at how the club is being run, especially with Silent Stan failing to address issues