Aliko Dangote reiterates intention to use £11.19bn wealth to stage Arsenal takeover

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has taken a step towards building the financial resources necessary to buy Arsenal.

Dangote hopes the building of an oil refinery will help generate the funds needed to stage a majority takeover of the Gunners, who are valued at £821m ($1.3bn) by business experts Forbes.

The 58 year old has an estimated wealth of £11.19bn and admits he is close to securing the money available to meet the demands of Arsenal's current shareholders.

"When we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough resources to pay what they are asking for," he told BBC Hausa.

American businessman Stan Kroenke is currently Arsenal's majority shareholder with a stake of 67.02%, while Russian magnate Alisher Usmanov owns 30.04%.

The remainder of the shares are divided between the Arsenal Supporters Trust and former players, but that is unlikely to perturb Dangote, who has criticised manager Arsene Wenger for his style of management.

Having previously withdrawn from buying a stake in Arsenal in April 2011 from Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, Dangote has flirted with the idea of investing in the club but says other business interests worked as an untimely distraction.

"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 added.

"We backtracked, because we were very busy doing other things, especially our industrialisation.

"[Arsenal] 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."

Victory over Aston Villa saw Arsenal retain the FA Cup, while a third place finish in the Premier League will see the club enter the group stage of the Champions League, thus avoiding a dreaded play-off in the early weeks of the season.

Having balanced the books since moving to the Emirates Stadium in 2005, Arsenal's enhanced financial position has seen them invest heavily in recent transfer windows, with the club record fee paid for Mesut Ozil being followed by Alexis Sanchez's arrival from Barcelona.