Josh Kroenke has given a passionate response after Arsenal fans demanded better leadership.
Gunners director Kroenke spoke out after 16 supporter groups signed a letter and launched a petition urging the ownership show they care by rebuilding the club on and off the pitch.
It comes with Arsenal facing a third successive season in the Europa League and only having £45million to spend in the transfer market to leave them in serious danger of falling further behind.
But the 39-year-old, son of the club’s owner Stan Kroenke, insisted he cares deeply and is determined to win trophies again, and revealed how he respects the “passion” of the fans despite their protests.
“For me, on a personal level, I’m not sure how to address my passion. Anyone that knows me knows how passionate I am about Arsenal Football Club,” said Josh Kroenke, who admitted he was “hurt” when he read the letter and had real emotion in his voice as he spoke.
“Absolutely. Is it hard to take? Absolutely. But I’m not in this business to make friends, I’m in it to win. If anyone is ever going to question anything about our ownership - which I view as a custodianship, the supporters trust us to be a custodian of the values — that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to win whilst also respecting the values and traditions of the club.
“I was there in Baku [as the Gunners lost to Chelsea in May's Europa League Final, so missing out on Champions League football in the new season] on behalf of KSE [Kroenke Sports & Entertainment], my father and family. I was down there on the sidelines, on the medal podium handing out second-place medals.
“I saw the look on our coach’s face, our players and all our staff. I felt and I saw what they felt. I felt the same way.
Kroenke also addressed head on why they cannot just plough money into the club and also why the budget for transfers is so small this summer, with Arsenal under particular pressure to address the sky-high wage bill.
He added: “If we’re going into the finer points I’d have to defer to these guys [managing director Vinai Venkatesham and Sanllehi]. I’ve always told them we need to be as aggressive as possible.
“It’s no secret that we have a Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget right now. That’s a fact. And one that we’re figuring out how to face internally at the moment.
“That doesn’t mean that my father or I have ever said anything about any restrictions on spending. We know where we need to be and we know the areas we need to address on the pitch.
“It’s not who you buy, it’s how you buy. There’s multiple statements to say how to skin that cat.
“While we’re not going to be in the market for some of the top players in the world at the moment whilst they are the top players, we’re actively scouting the globe to find the next big thing to become great at Arsenal Football Club. And not only will we bring them to the club, we’ll be able to retain them in the fold going forward.”