If Barca came up with 40m...

Anyone notice the friendly trip Arsene had with Dein?

There is something going on. I won't be surprised if Stan is in negotiation with Usmanov right now. That £14k a share is probably very tempting for a man who desperately wants to buy St Louis Rams. I just hope that Fiszman didn't include a golden handcuff in his deal with Kroenke or we may be stuffed for the next few years.

Heard that Usmanov has a spare $1 billion burning a hole in his pocket from the profit he has made from Facebook.

Wouldn't read to much into that trip jenius, they've been good friends for over a decade, no surprise to see them on vacation together. One thing that has confused me recently is the comments coming from Lady Nina Bracewell saying that Dein was bad for Arsenal because he couldn't get on with the board members and then a few days later saying the entire Arsenal board should be sacked. Something tells me that what is going on behind the scenes isn't as happy as we are led to believe.

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Calm down. We will always attract good players.

I think Dein was opposed to the building of the Emirates. He wanted us to effectively become lodgers at Wembley, not only to save on the construction costs of a new stadium which he knew would make success in the short term harder to acheive, but also because of the extra 30k crowd capacity, which though probably not always full, would have been close to being so when the likes on Man U, Chelsea and Barca came to town.

Plus, I guess it would've have cleared a lot of the Arsenal season ticket waiting list into the bargain.

This was obviously a major project and it became Dein versus the rest of the board. Hence the falling out and Dein's susequent departure.

Personally, I still think we did the right thing in building our own stadium where and when we did.

I'm starting to doubt Silent Stan's motives though. Maybe Hill-Wood was right about him after all...

"Wouldn't read to much into that trip jenius, they've been good friends for over a decade, no surprise to see them on vacation together."

I know that. I live in Finchley. Walking distance to Totteridge Lane.

"I think Dein was opposed to the building of the Emirates. He wanted us to effectively become lodgers at Wembley, not only to save on the construction costs of a new stadium which he knew would make success in the short term harder to acheive, but also because of the extra 30k crowd capacity, which though probably not always full, would have been close to being so when the likes on Man U, Chelsea and Barca came to town."

He was right. Thats why Spurs and West Ham are fighting for the Olympic Stadium. But after Dein agreed to build the stadium he recognised that present shareholders weren't wealthy enough to support its debt. And guess what? They have ALL sold up like he predicted they would.

Is there any peep from Kroenke? No? Who is regretting that Usmanov didn't takeover? I am, as someone who thought Stan will want to compete with Liverpools new owners or Glazers. Frankly Stan Kroenke is probably looking for a quick profit to sell to Usmanov. Anyone notice the lack of funds?

We are probably stuffed till that happens.

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And Usmanov is just in it because of his love for Arsenal is he (apparently he's a United fan)? You don't think he might just be interested in making a few quick rubles too? You do realise he's made a lot of his money by purchasing undervalued assets and selling them when he can make the most profit? Why would Arsenal be any different?

"But after Dein agreed to build the stadium he recognised that present shareholders weren't wealthy enough to support its debt."

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I didn't realise he actually agreed to the plans and then parted company...

Interesting.

Certainly the shareholders have done well off the back of all of this. Bracewell-Smith being foremost in this regard.

"And Usmanov is just in it because of his love for Arsenal is he (apparently he's a United fan)? You don't think he might just be interested in making a few quick rubles too? You do realise he's made a lot of his money by purchasing undervalued assets and selling them when he can make the most profit? Why would Arsenal be any different?"

You mean like Abrahmovic was an Arsenal or Spurs fan till he bought Chelsea? Usmanov has become an Arsenal fan.

Football clubs are publicity vehicles. I won't mind if Usmanov or Kroenke treats us like an investment. At least that would mean they would need to make cash injections so that they we don't lose our best players. It would also mean buying top players so that the value of the club increases.

As I see it at the moment our club will be fighting for CL place rather than challenging for the title. And thats if we don't lose Cesc. Without Cesc and Nasri I doubt we will finish 4th. What happens to the value of the club if that happens?

So I don't see anything bad in the owner showing some ambition.

"I didn't realise he actually agreed to the plans and then parted company..."

Absolutely. Dein had to agree or the stadium would not have been built.

The reason why Dein was fired in 2007 was because he disagreed with Fiszman on the value of the shares. Thats all.

Dein sold up for ~£9k a share. Fiszman thought that Arsenal was worth £15k a share. And felt they would never achieve the target with Dein selling early. Eventually they sold for ~12k a share. So it was nothing about being custodians, as put out by Arsenal PR department for the shareholders at the time. That was complete bull. Just a difference in valuation.