Regularly linked with an Arsenal takeover bid, Aliko Dangote is now worth $12.2bn (£8.9bn), according to American business magazine Forbes, making him the richest person in Africa.

Forbes list Dangote as the richest man on the continent, $4.5bn ahead of the nearest competitor Nicky Oppenheimer.

Arsenal’s share price is currently at around £30,000, meaning it would cost around £1.87bn to buy all 62,219 of them. Clearly the 60-year-old has the funds to make a move if he so chooses.

Last August, Dangote said he believes that Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov would walk away for the right offer. Now he just needs to make one.

As for what Arsenal fans could expect from the potential new owner, he made that pretty clear in the same interview. Whilst he agreed that Arsene Wenger had done a “good job”, he said the first thing he would change after taking over was the manager.

I don’t imagine the last year has done much to change his mind in that regard. As well as what’s happening on the pitch, Arsenal have also made a number of changes behind the scenes.

They’ve brought in Sven Mislintat to take over the scouting department, Raul Sanllehi to lead transfer negotiations and Huss Fahmy to take charge of player contracts.

We’ve already seen the direct benefits, with Mesut Özil’s new deal and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joining in January.

An indirect benefit is that the club is set up for a managerial change if and when it happens.

Dangote makes no secret of his desire to buy Arsenal, all that is missing now is the will to set that process in motion.