"I'm not in this business to make friends, I'm in it to win." Josh Kroenke said that in 2019, when 16 Arsenal supporter groups had signed an open letter demanding more from the ownership. At the time, it sounded like deflection. Right now, it sounds like a blueprint.
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League, are through to the Champions League and FA Cup quarter-finals, and face Manchester City in the League Cup final on Sunday. The summer 2025 transfer window gave Mikel Arteta a squad built to compete on every front. Whatever you thought of the Kroenkes four years ago, the picture looks considerably different today.
A pattern of engaging when it's uncomfortable
What separates Josh Kroenke from the stereotypical silent billionaire owner is the willingness to actually show up when things are bad. It would have been easy to say nothing in 2019. Instead, he sat with supporters' groups, acknowledged the frustration, and made commitments publicly.
He's done it elsewhere too. When Colorado Rapids fans group Centennial 38 sent an open letter in September 2023 hammering KSE over poor squad investment, a decaying stadium, and a communication blackout, Josh responded in detail — naming contractors, outlining feasibility studies, referencing the Victory Crossing Project. You can debate whether the follow-through matched the words, but the engagement itself wasn't nothing.
"Our supporters will always be the lifeblood of our club," he said at the time. That's standard PR language. The specifics around Legends, Civitas, Turner Construction — those aren't.
What it means for Arsenal's season — and the odds
The Kroenkes completed full ownership after buying out Alisher Usmanov's 30 per cent stake for over £600 million, pushing their combined holding to 97 per cent. That level of control, when accompanied by genuine investment, changes a club's trajectory. Arsenal's current position is evidence of that.
A League Cup win on Sunday against Pep Guardiola's City would be the first piece of silverware in what could be a genuinely historic season. Arsenal competing deep in four competitions simultaneously shifts their quadruple odds from fantasy territory into something bookmakers have to price seriously. The squad depth is there. The structure is there.
Whether the trophies follow is still an open question — but Josh Kroenke addressing fan letters was, it turns out, the least interesting thing he did.
