Premier League: Arsenal shareholder predicts more trophies

Premier League: Arsenal shareholder predicts more trophies
Arsenal's second-biggest shareholder Alisher Usmanov believes the Gunners will enter an era of winning trophies. The Gunners ended a nine-year silverware draught when they clinched the FA Cup at Wembley last season. Uzbek billionaire Usmanov holds 30% of the shares at Arsenal. "I think we begin a new era for Arsenal where we win trophies. That is most important for football," Usmanov said. "The club is very well placed to succeed." Usmanov has a fortune estimated to be worth £16bn and is ranked 42nd on the Forbes rich list. He says the club could have won more trophies in the past few years but that was not possible because they have gone into debt to build the Emirates Stadium. "The board and main shareholders chose the debt option at the time, which led to Arsenal going almost 10 years without winning a domestic title or the Champions League," he said. "The acquisition was financed with debt, which would be repaid through match-day revenues among other sources. There is another way of doing it - when shareholders buy all of the assets and contribute them to the club. As a result, these debt-free assets may generate income for the club. As a result of this choice, they were selling players and were unable to buy top players." Arsenal are 6/1 at Bet365 to win the Premier League title next season.
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