Changes In Arsenal Board, Lady Nina Holds The Key – Update

Arsenal have announced certain changes in their board, which may seem a little worrying for the Arsenal fans. Ivan Gazidis will be joining as the Chief Executive with effect from January 1 and given that he has the understanding of football and how the transfer market works, it is positive news. However, the worrying fact is that Richard Carr and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith have decided to quit the board with immediate effect. Lady Nina owns 15.9% of the shares and with her leaving the board, she no longer has to abide by the lockdown agreement. With Uzbeki oligarch Alisher Usmanov in the radar and his Red&White Holdings making it known that they would buy up more shares to get controlling rights, this is a bad news for the club. We have a rich history, tradition and a unique way of functioning. With a businessman as the owner of the club, the entire set-up would go haywire. Chairman Peter Hill-Wood‘s comments were also not very encouraging. When asked if Lady Nina could go ahead and sell her shares to Usmanov, he said,

“We hope that she would remain a shareholder but she has not spoken to me about it lately.”

When asked if a board member would buy her shares if she does decide to sell, Hill-Wood said,

“A number of the Board have indicated in the past that they are interested in buying more shares so the future stability of the Club is secure. The Board is very keen to retain control of the Club to ensure that its values and traditions are upheld and live on for many years to come.”

What prompted Lady Nina to end 70 years of family ties with the club is not known yet. If she did it because of a fallout with other board members, then it could very well be the opportunity Usmanov was looking for. She was instrumental in keeping out the Uzbeki by signing the lockdown agreement. However, she could sell her shares to him now. Another candidate who could buy her shares is Stan Kroenke, who is part of the Arsenal board now. If it is a choice between two evils, Kroenke is surely the lesser evil. As Arsenal fans, we need to understand that it would be very hard to resist these investors (buyers). But we wouldn’t want a Manchester United supporter to buy up our club.
The developments in the next few weeks would be interesting. If it tilts towards Kroenke, that would still be okay. However, if it were the Uzbeki, make no mistake,  Gooners would make their feelings known and do everything possible to resist that fat man.

Read the entire interview with Peter Hill-Wood here

Update: As was feared, the exit of Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith from Arsenal board was not amicable. Infact, far from it. If reports are to be believed,over the years she felt that the board was marginalising her. The disagreement is nothing new, as it is believed that she felt sidelined from a commercial deal in India, which she, through her Indian connections, brought before the board. Also, she was part of the club’s committee to appoint the chief executive, but her choice was overlooked and with Stan Kroenke’s recommendation, Ivan Gazidis was appointed.  It is understood that she was offered the role of  life president, but she refused.

The fact that would worry Arsenal fans most is that Alisher Usmanov, who has a 24.9%  stake, would try and seize this opportunity.  Although under normal market rules, if Usmanov’s stake rises above 30%, he would be obliged to make an offer for the rest of the shares , but it is quite possible that he may be able to obtain a waiver from this.

As already mentioned, interesting few weeks coming ahead for Arsenal fans.