Four major talking points were brought up in Arsenal's latest fan forum at Highbury House with Josh Kroenke and Vinai Venkatesham, according to fan group Red Action Gooners. It was the first meeting conducted in person due to Covid restrictions, though the former joined via Zoom with several other representatives.
Kroenke, who reportedly made no indication as to how long he'd dial into the forum for, opened the conference. But, despite the nature of the forum, attending Gooners were offered no opportunity to directly question the owner's statements with immediate effect.
According to the Red Action Gooners, the American billionaire, son of Stan Kroenke, swiftly made way after an hour due to commitments elsewhere among the KSE networks of sports teams. Venkatesham gave a good account of himself and delivered 'very positive' comments.
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Nonetheless, Kroenke, Venkatesham, fan group Red Action Gooners and other attending fans came to four key talking points. They spoke about the launch of Arsenal's new home kit, which is due to drop on May 19, and Mikel Arteta's priority to improve the fan atmosphere.
Kroenke and Venkatesham accepted that demographic in the Emirates has changed in recent years, and the club are making a conscious effort to improve the connection between boardroom decision-makers and fans. The club also admitted to aiming Socio tokens - a cryptocurrency initiative - at fans from afar.
The north London side's 'Socio tokens' scheme looks to encourage fans to buy cryptocurrency tokens which offer various 'rewards' and 'benefits' in return. Arsenal fans have made their feelings known and are unhappy - Kroenke and Venkatesham have since acknowledged the upset caused.
The fan forum concluded by discussing the Gunners' potential pre-season training camp in Germany. Arsenal are also set to travel to the United States this summer as part of their pre-season preparations, football.london understands.
The Gunners were due to travel to the States last season to take part in the Florida Cup where they were scheduled to play Everton and then one of Inter Milan and Colombian side Millonarios FC, but were forced to cancel due to a COVID outbreak in the squad. They now intend to head back to Miami for their pre-season campaign this time around, where it is expected that they will take on Chelsea and Orlando City.
