Arsenal chief Kroenke delivers on transfer promise as Rice part of £200m spree

Josh Kroenke, son of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, has kept his word to the Gunners supporters after pledging to be “aggressive” in the transfer market with the imminent £105million signing of West Ham captain Declan Rice. The north London side have been among the Premier League’s biggest spenders in recent years under Mikel Arteta, during their transition to a title contender.

After being pipped to the trophy by Manchester City, Arsenal rivalled Pep Guardiola’s outfit for Rice and forced the champions to back down following a third bid for the England man worth £105m. The move highlighted the Gunners’ ambition to improve in the window, having already sealed a £65m deal for Kai Havertz from London rivals Chelsea.

The Kroenkes are now viewed in a positive light, but that was not always the case. The owners were frequently lamented for their lack of spending and there were protests as recently as 2021 calling for the American billionaire to sell the club.

Josh Kroenke then promised to continue being aggressive in the market. “Since 2018 we have been as aggressive as we can in our singular ownership of the club,” he told the Daily Mail two years ago. “We’ve refinanced multi-hundreds of million pounds of stadium debt, we’ve broken transfer records and this past summer we had the highest net spend of anyone in the Premier League.

“Does that mean we’re going to keep doing it? I’m not 100 per cent sure. But we’re going to continue to be aggressive and when we see areas where we can improve the club on and off the pitch we’re going to keep doing it.”

Adding Rice, Havertz and possibly Jurrien Timber to Arteta’s squad would be a huge statement of intent with the Netherlands defender expected to cost in the region of £40m after personal terms were agreed upon. The trio would ensure that this summer’s total spend would eclipse £200m with over two months still remaining.