Arsenal's co-chair reveals secrets of how Kroenke family went from furious fan protests to Premier League title glory and dynasty planning

28.05.2026, 19:41 skysports.com

Josh Kroenke smiles at the mention of Max Dowman's breakaway goal in Arsenal's win over Everton in March. It ranks as one of the defining moments of an historic campaign and it is remembered for another reason in their co-chair's household.

"That was a fun one because we had just adopted a new puppy," says Kroenke. "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."

It is one of many anecdotes told during a wide-ranging conversation with a group of journalists at Arsenal's training ground which shows that Kroenke, who runs the club alongside his father, Stan, has lived the emotions of their title-winning season intensely.

He recalls watching the 2-2 draw with Wolves in February alone at his home in Denver, Colorado as a low point. "That's when you wish you were with someone else, at least to talk to." He relives the pain of the defeat to Manchester United in January. "I still think it was a handball," he says of Patrick Dorgu's opening goal.

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What about the VAR check, all four minutes and 11 seconds of it, to overturn West Ham's equaliser at the London Stadium? "I was on my hands and knees in my living room. It was a moment where I think every Arsenal supporter worldwide held their breath."

He describes his role in supporting Mikel Arteta during the tough moments. "That's when it's just a one-sentence text - 'hang in there, we got this, you aren't alone' - or a couple of sentences or thoughts: 'Stay the ground, stay focused, tune out the noise.'"

He marvels at the defiance typified by Declan Rice after the loss to Manchester City in April. "I thought Declan's mentality was spot-on. 'It's not done'. I was glad to hear the fans sing his name and say that the other day because in that moment, it wasn't done.

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"I think our group still believed, even if the rest of the world had started to move on." Kroenke was there, inside the away dressing room at the Etihad Stadium in the aftermath. "The players all looked at each other and were like, 'we can still do this.'"

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It culminated in those scenes of celebration at Selhurst Park, where Kroenke and his father carried the Premier League trophy across the pitch - "something I'll never forget," he says - having been doused in champagne by jubilant players in the dressing room.

"That was probably one of the most hot and humid environments I've ever been part of," he says with a smile as he relives the scene. "You had so many people all in there. There was champagne, there was this, there was that. And the energy was incredible."

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The title-clinching moment had of course come with Bournemouth's draw against Manchester City. Kroenke reveals he almost missed it having just flown back to the United States following Arsenal's win over Burnley at the Emirates Stadium 24 hours earlier.

"I left early on Tuesday morning to get back to the States and was planning to come back for Palace," he explains.

"I was telling the group when I left, 'Hey, don't worry about tomorrow, let's focus on Sunday. We need to win no matter what.'

"And then all of a sudden, as I was landing, Bournemouth scored.

"And you couldn't not pay attention at that point."

Kroenke raced home, frantically following the game on his phone, then watched the closing stages in his bedroom - "I didn't think anybody wanted to experience the energy I was having at that moment" - only emerging in the moments before the final whistle.

"I wish I could have been present with the group here at the training facility, but when we won it, there was an unexpected outpouring of emotion from me. I was very, very emotional for a few hours, thinking about the journey and the different points along the way."

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His first phone call was to his father. "Jubilation," he says of their conversation. His second? "To Mikel. 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 my loved ones. But a few minutes later, he called me back and we had a great moment."

Soon, he was being passed around the room at the training ground via video call. "I just sat there in an emotional state as the phone was going around, seeing everyone's faces," he says. "You never know how you're going to react until you're in that moment."

The Kroenke family are of course no strangers to sporting success. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment's portfolio includes 2022 Super Bowl winners the LA Rams and 2023 NBA Championship winners the Denver Nuggets. But it has been a long road at Arsenal.

Within a year of completing their full takeover in 2018, fan disillusionment over the plight of the team and the perceived aloofness of the new owners had led to a protest campaign using the slogan 'we care, do you?' and calling for a change of leadership.

"That was a big moment for me because it was very deliberate from a supporter standpoint," says Kroenke. "When I saw it, I understood. But I already had so much time and energy and emotion invested behind the scenes at that point.

"We had taken the club private the year before. I was spending a lot of time over here during the 2017/18 season. We went through a big transition from Arsene Wenger, a legendary person and legendary manager. Transitioning to a new era after 22 years was going to be difficult but we transitioned from him to Unai [Emery].

"I think, one, it was taking the club private that summer. Two, you had a legendary manager moving on and us trying to reinvent ourselves. And three, the underestimated thing for me on the back end was [chief executive] Ivan Gazidis' departure.

"I think for a club of our stature, change is going to be healthy. But that was way too much change in way too short of a period of time. We had to really react to that over the 2018/19 season, regain our stability. We were straddling strategies at the time, almost.

"We had been out of the Champions League for a year or two. We were trying to bring some young players into the squad but not get too inexperienced to keep pushing for the league. I flew all the way to Baku for the worst 45 minutes of that season."

The 4-1 Europa League final loss to Chelsea in the Azerbaijani capital was a low point which confirmed another year out of the Champions League. But it was also an epiphany for the Kroenkes, who resolved to pursue a long-term and youth-focused strategy.

"Seeing that happen was the first time I came back and told my dad that I think we need to really embrace where we are," recalls Kroenke. "Now that we have 100 per cent of the club, we might need to take a step back to go forward at some point."

Kroenke smiles as he remembers explaining the decision to Arsenal's then chairman Sir Chips Keswick.

"He was a big mentor of mine and we would go to lunch all the time and talk through things about the club. Having just taken it private, we were starting to talk more and more about the future.

"I told Chips at lunch one day. I said, 'Chips, you know, in the States, we've had to take a step back to go forwards at times, so I think at some point we may have to do that.'

"He kind of smiled and agreed and then he just looks at me and goes, 'Bloody hell, don't get relegated!' And I said, 'I will do my best to thread that needle.' If anyone knows Chips, rest his soul, he had a great sense of humour and a great timing for things.

"When that came out, it disarmed all my thoughts and it was a moment I'll never forget.

"But I knew what we shouldn't do.

"Chips made that very clear."

Arteta became the figurehead of the new strategy with his appointment in December 2019. But the Kroenkes first major recruit after the defeat in Baku six months earlier was a young player, who, like his manager, has gone on to fulfil every bit of his potential.

The signing in question came about following a conversation between Kroenke and former centre-back Per Mertesacker, who was a year into his role as Arsenal's academy manager at the time.

"After the final in Baku, I made a comment about Virgil van Dijk, who had arrived at Liverpool a year or two before," says Kroenke. "I said, 'How do we get one of these guys into our system?'

"Well, unless you've got £100m, 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."

His £27m arrival from French side Saint-Etienne was an early signal of the club's intention to pivot towards youth but it would be three years before he was brought back from loan and into the first-team fold, a delay which frustrated many supporters but highlighted the trust placed in Arteta by the Kroenke family.

"I don't get involved in transfers," says Kroenke. "I think my job is to understand the 'why' on the front end, so there's accountability on the back end if it goes wrong. So, I'm not taking credit for any transfers or anything like that, but I want to be around and understand why we're going after certain things.

"The Saliba one is interesting. Mikel and I have now laughed about this because I didn't tell him the story until much later, but when we purchased William and he went on loan for two seasons, and then we were transitioning to Mikel by the time William rejoined us, there some thoughts on the front end about him rejoining our squad that were very well covered. I'll let you guys fill in all those blanks.

"I was sitting over in America laughing, going, 'Please let this kid work out!' But I was never going to say, 'Hey, someone told me a few years ago that this kid was going to be great!' What am I going