Ex- Arsenal co-owner David Dein says that the club have made "bad mistakes" since his sour departure 15 years ago - but admits that the Kroenke family have now "stabilised the ship."
Dein, who left the Gunners in 2007 following a period of unrest in the boardroom and building of the Emirates Stadium, orchestrated Arsene Wenger 's move to north London and presided over the period of rich success that followed. In contrast, the Kroenke's have been criticised for much of their work since completing their takeover four years after Dein's unceremonious exit.
But the former Arsenal chief reckons that Stan and his son, Josh, have put the Gunners on an "upward trajectory" after a series of blunders. "They made mistakes, no doubt," Dein told the Guardian while promoting his new book. "Bad mistakes over the years in the transfer market, and how they've run the club. But the good news is that it's 15 years since I left, and they now appear to be on an upward trajectory. The ship has been stabilised."
Dein is also backing the current regime to continue their momentum, adding: "I want the club to do well, irrespective of how I left and how Arsene left, which was equally as painful. We're both bruised over it. Because that was unfinished business. We had something really special. And when it fell away, that really hurt."
Still owning American football team the Los Angeles Rams, Stan Kroenke handed son Josh more control over Arsenal's business in 2018 and he's been the leading public voice from the boardroom ever since. Working alongside manager Mikel Arteta, the 42-year-old recently claimed that the Gunners are "poised for future success."
"The club is really coming together," Josh stated during Amazon Prime Video 's documentary All or Nothing: Arsenal. "And I think we are poised for future success because of the experiences a lot of these players have gained along the way."
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In pre-season, Arteta heaped praise on the Kroenke heir off the back of talks over Arsenal's future. "I think the commitment and desire of this ownership is without a question or doubt as good as I’ve seen in football," the Gunners boss declared.
"They're on it, they want to take this club to a completely different level. They have the ambition, and it's clear, there is so much evidence that they're giving us all the support we need in order to do that. So it's great to see as well that now there is a little bit of change in that talk and even our supporters and everybody around the world is talking very differently about what is happening here."
