Kroenke: Rare interview

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American billionaire Stan Kroenke has failed to rule out owning Arsenal in the future.

The North London club recently secured a five-year lock-down agreement, ensuring that directors will only sell their stake to 'permitted persons' before April 2009 and have to give fellow board members 'first option' until October 2012.

Speculation has been rife this season that either Kroenke or Russian Alisher Usmanov could head a takeover, especially when coupled with David Dein's departure at the close of last term.

However, the lock-down agreement appears to have eased talk of foreign involvement.

Kroenke - who holds around a 12 per cent stake - has revealed that he sees the club as a long-term investment and refused to completely rule out a potential takeover.

"I have known about Arsenal previously. We got involved in Major League Soccer in Colorado," he said on Sky Sports News.

Investors

"Our executives started developing a relationship which we felt we needed with European football.

"Through that process we got to know Arsenal in a different way, and so that is how we became as familiar as we are and eventually made the investment.

"It is a partnership at this point. Everybody has a tendency to speed up the process. These things take a lot of time and effort, and many years to develop.

"We tend to look in the long-term; I think if you're an investor and don't look in the long-term you are not a good investor.

"There are lots of owners in Arsenal so we would have to see how that (a takeover) would work."

Lock-down thoughts

When quizzed about his thoughts on the lock-down agreement, Kroenke backed the movement and explained that he would be open to discussing a possible move to join up.

"I support it. We'll see, they would have to invite me," he added.

"This is a strategic investment for us, we are long-term investors. We like the team, otherwise we would not have got involved."