Industry insiders are convinced that Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke invested his own money into the club rather than rely on the club’s self-sustaining model for transfers in the summer.
Arsenal fans were delighted with the club’s transfer business as they signed Nicolas Pepe, Kieran Tierney, David Luiz, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba as one for the future.
The club has always been cautious in the past, keeping a big cash “slush fund” to keep the banks happy with guarantees should they ever endure a bad season if, for example, they finish outside the European places.
But Kroenke may well have offered more personal guarantees and backing and the buying out of Alisher Usmanov’s 30 per cent stake could be seen as a game changer.
Any owner would be reluctant to pile millions in when a rival would be reaping rewards from their investment.
Kroenke’s son Josh was asked about investment in the summer and just replied they had been “aggressive” and “fans should read between the lines.”
Kroenke has proved his commitment in the past with big money signings and stepped up again in this window with a string of deals to show his support.