Unai Emery has said the prospect of Stan Kroenke gaining total ownership of the club is “positive” after the billionaire gave him his full backing in May.
Kroenke, who already owned two-thirds of the club, announced this week that minority shareholder Alisher Usmanov had agreed to sell his 30 percent stake to him.
The development has angered some fans because it would mean Kroenke could force the remaining smaller shareholders to sell their combined three percent stake, taking Arsenal into private ownership.
“I met the Kroenke family in Atlanta, and he gave us his commitment in this project with Arsenal,” Emery told a news conference on Friday ahead of the season opener against Manchester City.
“And for that this news, for me, is positive, and his commitment to Arsenal is for me the most important.”
Emery urged fans to go into the City game and the season with optimism and said he wanted his players to take one step at a time.
“My first message is clear: think about each match. Enjoy the challenges of each match,” he said. “I am looking every day and the players are smiling in training with a big collective spirit.
“For me, that is the best message I can give the supporters. It’s for that, my message for Sunday and for the season is optimism.
“On Sunday I want first to be together with our supporters. It helps if we’re together, for the players to show their best performance and to transmit with every supporter the quality, the energy and the spirit to go forward against Manchester City.”
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