Arsenal director Josh Kroenke has admitted he finds it “hard to truly relate” to the passion fans have for the club.
The 41-year-old has been the club’s director since December 2013 after being installed in the position by polarising Arsenal owner and his father, Stan Kroenke.
The Missourian family assumed full control of Arsenal in 2018 after Alisher Usmanov accepted a bid of £550m for the rest of his shares in the club.
Under Kroenke’s ownership fans have been heavily critical of his ambition — or lack of — to return Arsenal to the pinnacle of the sport, having not competed in the Champions League since 2016/17 — and having not won the Premier League since 2004.
Kroenke also came under fire after last year’s failed attempt to break off into a Super League, a decision he would later admit served as a learning curve in trying to understand the perception and mentality of European fans compared to the customs he is used in the States.
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Despite those efforts to bridge the gap, Kroenke will only have exacerbated fan frustration after recently admitting he struggles to “truly relate” to passion Arsenal supporters have for the club.
Kroenke told Road Trippin’: “I think that one of the messages that I said to our supporters and I do listen to our supporters over there. I listen to our fans here [in America] with our teams but the level of passion that is involved in European football, and support that goes into these clubs – I don’t wanna say it’s deeper than anything we have over here – but it’s way deeper than anything we have over here.
“It’s hard to truly relate as an American or a foreigner heading into the UK the passion that really goes on from the people that support these clubs.”