Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote believes that Arsenal need more direction than at present, if they want to achieve true progress and has confirmed that he will bid to own the club again in due course.
The ‘more direction’ reference was perhaps regarding Ashley Cole, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie, who have been casualties of a long term vision by the club to fund the Emirates Stadium, which has led many to question their ulterior ambitions.
Arsene Wenger has appeased supporters by recently moving for top class talents in the form of Real Madrid’s Mesut Ozil and Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez for a combined £72m approx. However, Dangote believes that Arsenal still need to do better to truly compete for the big prizes.
In an opinion that will not go well with everyone, the 58 year old said, “They are doing well, but they need another strategic direction. They need more direction than the current situation, where they just develop players and sell them.”
According to Forbes, Dangote is believed to be Africa’s richest man and the 67th richest person in the world, with a total income of $15.7bn USD. He had attempted to buy a stake of Arsenal five years ago but failed.
However, he surmises that the money he has generated by building an oil refinery in his hometown is enough to make another attempt.
“There were a couple of us who were rushing to buy, and we thought with the prices then, the people who were interested in selling were trying to go for a kill,” he elaborated. “When we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough resources to pay what they are asking for.”
At present, American businessman Stan Kroenke is the majority Arsenal shareholder with 67%, while Russian Alisher Usmanov, has a hold on 30% of the shares.
