Usmanov keeps Arsenal options open

Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov has added to the uncertainty surrounding the future ownership of Premier League giants Arsenal by refusing to rule out a possible takeover of the club.

Usmanov, who made his fortune in the steel industry, has a 26.3 percent stake in the Gunners through his investment company Red and White Holdings.

A statement issued on Wednesday said Red and White was a “committed long-term investor in Arsenal” which “retains all its options” and “does not wish… to reduce its future flexibility and accordingly no particular course of action is ruled in or out”.

US billionaire Stan Kroenke, Arsenal’s biggest investor and already the owner of clubs in several other sports, has a 29.98 percent stake in the Gunners.

If either Kroenke or Usmanov increase their stake to 30 percent, they will be required under English company law to launch a takeover of Arsenal.

Speculation about the north London side’s future ownership has intensified following the recent announcement that Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith was selling her 15.9 percent holding in the club.

Kroenke has long been linked with a takeover of Arsenal but it appears his attention is currently focused on an outright purchase of the St Louis Rams, a team that plays in the US gridiron National Football League (NFL).

Reports in the British media have valued Arsenal’s shares at 10,000 pounds (15,480 dollars) each.

Arsenal will go second in the Premier League, three points behind leaders Chelsea with four games to play, if they beat Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby at White Hart Lane on Wednesday.