Thierry Henry increases pressure on Kroenke to sell Arsenal, confirms AST meeting

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has increased the pressure on owner, Stan Kroenke, to sell the club after confirming that Spotify founder Daniel Ek has reached out to the American billionaire about taking over the Premier League club.

The north London club's supporters have been vocal about wanting a change in ownership for many years but the cries grew louder and more intense after the recent European Super League (ESL) fiasco.

In light of the recent protests held by fans, Spotify founder Ek threw his hat in the ring and made it clear that he will be interested if Kroenke Sports and Entertainment – the holding company that owns Arsenal – wants to walk away.

The Kroenkes, Stan and his son Josh, put out a defiant statement making it clear that they have no intention of selling the club and confirmed that will not entertain any offers with regards to the same. Ek, however, is not ready to walk away and recently revealed that he has raised the necessary funds to buy the club.

Henry, who was a guest on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, has suggested that Ek has already "reached out" to the American billionaire about a takeover. The former Gunners striker is certain that Ek's interest is not short-term and that the Spotify founder will be resolute in his bid and will not walk away soon.

"I know a lot of people wanted to hear about [the takeover]," Henry told Sky Sports. "It is true. Daniel is an Arsenal fan, he didn't say it for any publicity. He is an Arsenal fan for a very long time."

"He already - I'll give you something - reached out [to the Kroenkes] and already said himself that he had collected the funds to make sure that he can put in a good bid. They now need to listen. A lot of people have been screaming that they want the owner out. We are trying to offer a solution involving the fans and getting the DNA of the club back.

"There needs to be a discussion, but he reached out," he added. "I think it is going to be long and not easy - if it does ever happen. One thing that I want to reiterate is that Daniel will not move away, he will be there waiting to see if they want to sell."

"That is going to take a very long time, we know what we want to do, but first and foremost we need to make sure that we can take over, if they are listening."

Ek's plans for Arsenal

Henry reiterated that Ek's plan if he takes over is to bring back Arsenal's identity which many feel has been lost under the current owners. The Spotify founder has the full backing of Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira, who are said to be part of the takeover bid.

The Arsenal all-time top scorer revealed that they have already met the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) and told them about their intentions to bring the supporters back into the board room.

"He approached us, we listened to him," Henry said. "When we knew first and foremost that he wanted to involve the fans, we actually met the Arsenal Supporters' Trust and told them what we wanted to do."

"We want to bring them back on board, being part of the meetings, knowing what's happening because you need to put the DNA back into the club.