Thierry Henry says he’s now behind Arsenal’s current ownership, despite backing a rival bid for the club back in 2021.
Back in 2021, with Arsenal struggling on the pitch and the fans launching protests against club owners Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Spotify founder Daniel Ek made a very public show of bidding for a takeover.
Thierry Henry was one of a few former players to give their backing to the bid, intending to return to the club if it had been successful. Ek even met with the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust to discuss his plan for the new ownership framework.
But the Kroenkes told Ek they “don’t need the money”, and subsequent reports suggested they’d reject any new offer for the club.
Two years later, KSE are still very much in charge at Arsenal, and things are going much better on the pitch.
Reflecting on the last two years, Henry explained why he got involved with Ek’s bid and why he’s no longer pushing for KSE to sell.
“At the time [Ek] wanted to offer a solution to the fans, who were all saying ‘sell, sell, sell’ but sell to who,” Henry told CBS Sports. “We offered a solution, it wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m an Arsenal fan, let’s win. It doesn’t matter (who is in charge). We were there to offer a solution, you want it, you don’t want it, it doesn’t matter.
“Now everything is ok, why would anyone want to disturb anything [by changing owners]? It’s all I wanted. Whether it was me in or me out, I wanted Arsenal to be successful. That’s the main point.”
Despite the recent progress, it’s fair to say Arsenal haven’t really achieved anything yet.
The Gunners are top of the league, but they haven’t won it.
They’re in a great position to qualify for the Champions League, but it’s still possible it all falls apart.
They’re in the Europa League last-16, but they could be out of the competition by the middle of next month.
This is when the team need to make their opportunity count. That said, it’s undeniable that things have come a long way since Ek’s failed bid in 2021.