Football Corner

It appears as though Arsenal may be the next, in a long line of clubs to be taken over after Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov and his company, Red and White Holdings have increased their stake in the North London club to 21 per cent. Red and White Holdings have now become the second largest shareholders in the club behind Danny Fiszman, who has 24 per cent. Usmanov first bought into the club when he purchased 14.65 per cent of former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein's stake for a total of 75 million pounds.

He set up the company (Red and White Holdings) alongside fellow investor Farhad Moshiri specifically to hold equity in the club. David Dein is the chairman of the company and is said to be keen to get back into the club after he left when he advised Arsenal to listen to an offer for the club from American businessman Stan Kroenke which caused differences between the board.

I believe if Arsenal are to bridge the gap between themselves and the likes of Chelsea and Man United then they will need to take this investment seriously. It is clear for all to see that Arsenal have certainly not shown the same ambition as the likes of United and Liverpool this summer and I think that if they were to get funding for Arsenal boss Wenger to splash out in the transfer market then they would be a major threat in the league, but as it is ,they will be lucky to at best finish top 3.

I understand that Arsenal have made a terrific start to the season, but I feel that they may fall away as the season progresses due to the lack of strength in depth in the squad. I feel that foreign investment is key to Arsenal becoming possibly, the biggest club in the country. So many clubs in the league have done this and the results can be seen for themselves.