FOR
* Keeping up with the Jonses. Man U followed Chelsea, followed by Liverpool (who needed a new ground). Arsenal would also be vulnerable to be overtaken by other clubs taken over like Aston Villa or about to be taken over by US tycoons – potentially Man City etc;
* If Michel Platini gets his way there’ll only be three Champions League spots to fight for and a repeat of the last two seasons would mean a ‘demotion’
* Although Arsene Wenger says he doesn’t want to sign big names and experience – he has in the past when he has had the funds, like Marc Overmars
* Keeping the priceless services of David Dein, with all his connections, influential positions, negotiating skills and acumen. The majority of Arsenal fans wouldn’t want Dein to go to another club
* The re-instatement of Dein would also block the potential route of Wenger being appointed England manager by the FA
* Some fans object to paying full rates to see predominantly young players ‘train’ and develop
* Kroenke‘s outfit KSE has valuable experience running sports businesses, which can be used to Arsenal’s advantage on a worldwide basis
* There’s not many corporate social responsibility issues with Kroenke (although one ANR reader says he’s had a run in with a Union)
AGAINST
* Wenger says consistently he doesn’t want the money to invest in players. To do so would disrupt his five year plan of developing youngsters
* Currently we don’t know the details of any Kroenke plan. It might be that he takes the club into more debt and uses the club to pay it off
* The majority of the current board are genuine Arsenal supporters
* It would mean giving up the Arsenal tradition to the first prospective buyer waving a wad of notes. There probably are other interested parties and if so the board has a duty to listen to all offers, which could be better, and offer more money
* Upholding tradition – after all, it is an essential part of The Arsenal (particularly after it was revealed today that the Queen’s a GOONER)
* Don’t understimate the wage cap coming in. Platini wants in, Caborn wants it, European Sports and Finance ministers want it – even Tony Blair and Gordon Brown want it. And don’t bank on the Americans not wanting it, given their experience of running sports businesses in the US. If it comes in, the need for investment in the playing side would be lessened
* In a couple of years the Highbury Square Development will have been sold, lessening the debt and enabling Arsenal to release more funds for the playing side
In an ideal world, like the one at Barcelona, both sides would outline their election plans and the members would vote.
However, it is not an ideal world, and as a small shareholder, the watchword has to be, wait.