ARSENAL legend Patrick Vieira has begged the club’s owners to sell up as he confirmed that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek will return with another takeover offer.
Stan Kroenke has already rejected a bid close to £2billion from the Swedish entrepreneur who has has been vocal that he is going nowhere.
Vieira – who is part of Ek’s consortium along with fellow Invincibles Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp – believes it is ‘time for a change’ of ownership.
He recently urged Gunners fans who held a ‘Kroenke Out’ protest on Sunday to be peaceful after stating that ‘violence is not the answer’.
And now the ex-Arsenal skipper has pleaded with the unpopular Kroenke family to either get more involved with the club, or walk away.
The Frenchman, 44, told the ITV Football Show Podcast: “In the last couple of years I believe that the club didn’t take the right direction.
“And I think it is time for change. If the change doesn’t happen, I believe that Arsenal will be in a difficult position.
“We can only make a judgement from outside. We watch every single Arsenal game and it is difficult to recognise the club that we used to play for.
“It’s difficult to understand the reasons why Arsenal went down the last couple of years but obviously losing Arsene [Wenger] and not finding the right sort of crew to handle the fact that Arsene wasn’t there wasn’t in place.
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“And I think every single year Arsenal didn’t get through to the Champions League or even this year to the Europa League. So this is a big disappointment for all of us as Arsenal fans.
“But we get to the time where everybody at the club, the Kroenke’s need to get more involved to take Arsenal back where the club should be.
“If that’s not the case, I think it is time for them to let the club go and let somebody else take care of the football club.”
Pressed on whether Ek will return with another offer, Vieira said: “He’s definitely going to try again. He is going to be there for quite a long time. He’s a massive Arsenal fan.
“And talking to him a couple of times his desire and his commitment to Arsenal football club will be fantastic.
“Obviously, if the club is not for sale there is nothing that he can do but he’s going to be there and he’s going to wait and he wants to buy the club.
“I think it will be really important because Arsenal is in a critical moment.
“For me, it is the right time for him to do his maximum or to do what is possible to buy the club, to convince the country to buy the club.”
Dutch icon Bergkamp has also stressed that Ek and his former team-mates are not giving up on their quest to take control of the club.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
