The 6ft 4in frame of Josh Kroenke has entered the London Colney canteen wearing a distinct t-shirt with large print. 'Arsenal, Champions, 2025-26 season', it reads. The American's pride of an achievement which has been 22 years in the making radiates from his demeanour, as well as his clothing.
The Arsenal co-chair had spent the previous weekend carrying the Premier League trophy onto the sun-kissed Selhurst Park pitch alongside his father Stan, the north London club's majority owner, bringing an end to a wait which had caused division and longing amongst the fanbase.
For a family whose relationship with Arsenal fans has fluctuated between suspicion and affection across nearly two decades, from fan protests to spending 105 million pounds on Declan Rice, the moment carried enormous emotional weight.
'In the dressing room dancing (afterwards in a suit) was probably one of the most hot and humid environments I've ever been a part of!' he says. 'You had so many people all in there. There was champagne, there was this, there was that. And the energy was incredible. But to make that walk across the field with my father (and the trophy) was something I'll never forget. Those moments are invaluable.'
The 46-year-old had only just landed in home city Denver, Colorado on Tuesday night when Manchester City's game against Bournemouth was starting, having been in London to watch Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Burnley the previous day. Kroenke was sat at home when the result had come in. 1-1. Arsenal were officially league champions after 22 years. The players, gathered at the London Colney training base in anticipation, erupted in joy, while Mikel Arteta found out the result while having a barbeque in his garden.
'I was very emotional for a few hours, thinking about the journey and the different points along the way, because there were some very tough times,' he says. 'My first phone call was to my dad, my second was to Mikel. And Mikel, and I figured he wouldn't answer right away, because he was probably doing exactly what I was doing at that moment, which was celebrating and crying with your loved ones. Over here, knowing the ups and downs that the supporter base had been through, the tough times that my family had had on our way into club ownership, when the final whistle blew and they (fans) started to descend outside the Emirates on Tuesday, those were powerful images for me to get halfway around the world.'
Arsenal's season has been littered with a number of twists and turns which has seen their fans fluctuate between states of euphoria and despair, emotions Kroenke has keenly felt, too. 'I watched the Wolves away game by myself at home — that was tough. That's when you wish you were with someone else, at least to talk to,' he says, his tone dipping in relation to one of Arsenal's worst performances of the season.
Though the mood changes when it comes to the Everton game, where 16-year-old Max Dowman emerged from the bench to rescue Arteta. 'Max and the Everton game... that was a fun one because I was watching that and we had just adopted a puppy. So when Max went on his run, I scared the hell out of the puppy by jumping up. That dog peed on the floor right there next to me with what I was saying and yelling at the television!'
Then there was the humungous VAR call against West Ham, Pablo adjudged to have grabbed David Raya's arm in the build-up to Callum Wilson's injury-time strike. 'I was on my hands and knees in my living room and just saying that I thought he closed his hand (on Raya's arm)!' he exclaims. 'I am for sure watching it with red-coloured binoculars. But it was a moment where I think every Arsenal supporter worldwide held their breath. But I've had them (decisions) go against us the other way. So it is what it is and I'm just happy to be here with the trophy.'
Now, with a season-ticket waiting list in excess of 20 years, and only extending further after the recent successes, renovating the Emirates is squarely in the focus. Kroenke said in July 2024 that there had been 'internal conversations' about an expansion, but now revealed that he's keen to bring back the character of Arsenal's old home Highbury to the Emirates. Board member Otto Maly is part of the project. He previously played a key role in building the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, a 100,000-capacity venue costing over 4 billion pounds and home to Kroenke's Los Angeles Rams, overseeing its ownership and operations.
'They (several new board members) are putting together a plan right now to renovate the Emirates,' he says. 'My only regret being in my position at Arsenal right now is I never got to experience Highbury. There's some character that I want to make sure we're preserving and bringing back to the ground as well. We do this stuff in the States in our facilities and our teams. We take great pride in it, so I think we have a chance to come over and really give the Arsenal supporters an elevated matchday experience. I had different comments from people over the years about the walls of Highbury, the character of what that building was. The Emirates is obviously a totally different animal. I do want Arsenal fans to know this is a very modern facility but also character. (We need to) try to figure out a way to bring and preserve some of the character of old English style football as well.'
Arsenal's relationship with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) stretches back nearly two decades and has shifted dramatically. Stan first became involved in the club in 2007, initially taking a minority stake before steadily increasing his holding over the years. By 2011, he was the majority shareholder, but it was a fragmented ownership structure, with rival investor Alisher Usmanov holding a significant minority share and influence inside Arsenal. The decisive turning point came in 2018, when KSE finally completed a full takeover of the Gunners, buying out Usmanov's remaining stake and taking the club into private ownership.
From that moment, decision-making became more streamlined with a view to the long term. Arsenal's Europa League final 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in May 2019, in Baku, particularly left Kroenke aware that a rebuild was needed. With Arteta's arrival in December 2019, older players on expensive contracts who were not in the Spaniard's plan were soon to be shifted out. The contracts of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi were terminated, David Luiz left. Kroenke was after the next Virgil van Dijk.
'I had a great conversation with (ex-academy manager) Per Mertesacker after the final in Baku,' he says. 'I made a comment about Virgil van Dijk, who had arrived at Liverpool a year or two before. I said, "How do we get one of these guys into our system?" He said, "Well unless you've got 100 million quid, you better not be thinking about him". I said, "Well, who's the best young defender in Europe?" He turned without hesitation and said, "William Saliba". That summer there were already conversations around building to the future. There were so many moving parts at that time…'
Younger players were brought in such as Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli and Kieran Tierney, with a view to building towards the future. The Hale End academy was tapped into, too, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe rising to prominence in a team striving to get back to the summit. This was before an almighty fallout in April 2021 which took years for the Kroenkes to recover from. Arsenal were one of six Premier League clubs to sign up to the European Super League, a breakaway project which collapsed within 48 hours amid fan protests and widespread opposition from governing bodies.
It brought the Kroenke ownership into direct conflict with fans who protested outside the Emirates, demanding the Americans sold the club. An effigy of Stan was even left hanging from a lamppost near the stadium. The north London club issued a formal apology days later, with Kroenke admitting the club had 'got it wrong' and pledged to rebuild trust with fans. This was a key turning point by which the co-chair became more visible and involved in explaining decisions.
Upon being asked to reflect upon the backlash, regret is etched on his face, even though five years have passed. He says: 'When they were hanging us from lampposts? No, that was part of the journey and its one that while we're not proud to talk about, we're not trying to hide from it. Even though it was painful at the time, it brought me closer to the supporter base as well. After that, I sat with our now board member Ben Winston in LA and he wanted to explain to me a couple more things from a supporter's perspective. So really coming out of that conversation, all I did was apologise. We are all humans, we all make mistakes and it is one on a grand scale that really ignited a lot of emotion in people but hey, we're still people. Fortunately it was in Covid and I was doing this all on screen where they couldn't throw tomatoes at me. So, it was OK from that standpoint! But we had some great conversations.'
The ascent of Arsenal is interlinked with Arteta, who tore out the roots and rebuilt a club basking in mediocrity. The fans were disillusioned and the players not good enough in his eyes. It was through the courage of his convictions and some unpopular decisions which helped bring the Gunners back to the top table. As well as, of course, major financial backing by the Kroenkes who spent around 250 million pounds on players last summer.
Having won the title, Arteta last week candidly admitted he had previously questioned whether he was good enough to win silverware at the north London club. Though Kroenke was always convinced on his man, and instead focused on weeding out those who were bringing the club down. 'You know… it was always about the big picture,' he explains. 'Early on, there were moments that culture got tested. Mikel has different metaphors on how he tries to say it: whether you're in the boat, or you're out of the boat. Sometimes we had people that not only were they not in the boat, but they're underneath the water with a rope trying to pull us back, and we had to figure out who those people were and we had to snip that rope along the way. So the boat metaphor maybe still carries on to this day, because everybody is in that boat and everybody is rowing in the same direction.'
Tying down Arteta to a long-term deal is now top of Kroenke's summer list. The manager's present deal expires next summer with talks having already begun earlier in the year and set to resume after this Saturday's Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. 'If there is a singular person you can trace this all back to, I'm going to give 100 per cent credit to Mikel, his staff and the players,' he adds. 'Keeping Mikel around is (an) utmost priority and I think the good news for Arsenal fans worldwide is he's enjoying the project, he's enjoying being here and from his time as a player all the way up until now. He's an Arsenal man through and through.'
For Josh Kroenke, this title is the culmination of years of scrutiny and belief in Arteta's vision. After 22 years of waiting, Arsenal are back on top — and with Kroenke already talking about the club's future, there is a feeling this may only be the beginning.
