Arsene Wenger insisted Arsenal supporters should not blame Stan Kroenke for the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League after the Emirates turned on the majority shareholder on Sunday.
When it became apparent that Arsenal would not qualify for the Champions League despite their 3-1 win over Everton supporters began to chant “Stan Kroenke get out of our club”, with a rallying cry that began in the North Bank soon taken on by many fans across the ground.
The display of frustration at an owner rarely seen in North London came days after it was revealed that Kroenke had rejected a £1billion takeover bid from Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
Though Sunday’s chants were the most vocal against Kroenke in some time Wenger made clear that he did not hold the 69-year-old culpable for Arsenal’s on-field displays this year.
“I respect Stan Kroenke a lot. He’s not at fault if we didn’t reach the Champions League. It’s the technical department that is responsible for that.
“Is he committed? That’s not my problem. I think a club works when everybody does his job.
“We live in a society where everybody has an opinion. They do little and they talk a lot. That doesn’t move the society forward. What moves the society forward is people who work, really hard, and talk not too much.”
Wenger was similarly keen to make clear that Usmanov’s takeover bid was “not my problem” as reports in Russia claim that the magnate might consider a second attempt to acquire Kroenke’s controlling stake at the Emirates.
