Stan Kroenke moves closer to achieving Arsenal vision as Thierry Henry reveals takeover plan

Arsenal's North London Derby win over Tottenham Hotspur has been slightly overshadowed by fresh takeover talk.

In attendance at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon was Gunners legend Thierry Henry as he watched his former club produce their best performance of the season with Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka all on the scoresheet in a 3-1 victory.

Alongside the Frenchman in the stands was Daniel Ek, the Swedish billionaire and CEO of music streaming service Spotify, who made an attempt to purchase Arsenal from Stan Kroenke earlier in the year.

It was the first time he has been spotted watching an Arsenal game since releasing a statement in May confirming that his offer to the Kroenke's - that included fan ownership, representation on the board and a golden share for the supporters - had been turned down.

Although, Ek did stress that he would be ready to pounce if the Kroenke's have a change of heart and Henry - who is involved with the Swede - has revealed that they are here for the long haul.

"To be able to get there, you need to have someone to respond on either side, it didn’t happen yet," Henry said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show. "We, he, is here to stay. Let’s see what’s going to happen.

"For the moment, we enjoyed obviously the win yesterday.

"I think it’s going to be long. I think you remember me saying it’s going to be long. How long it’s going to be, I don’t actually know but we are here to stay.

Whilst Henry's takeover plan has gone down well with many Arsenal supporters on social media, the possibility of it actually happening doesn't seem too likely based on Stan Kroenke's previous comments about potentially cashing in on the 13-time champions of English football.

Back in 2017, Kroenke outlined his vision for Arsenal to the Mirror and it included winning trophies, not making money, and certainly not selling the club.

"No, absolutely not," he said when asked about ever selling. "That’s just not our model, not what we do. I’m at a stage in life where what good does that do? I love Arsenal, love being involved with Arsenal. There is no finer feeling than going out and winning like we did with the FA Cup.

"There's no finer feeling — wonderful, wonderful feeling."

Kroenke also targeted being "champions of everything. Premier League, Champions League" and heavy investment to improve the first-team squad in the most recent summer transfer window at least shows a willingness to put Arsenal on the right track.

The American oversaw a club record spend of £142million to bring in the likes of Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale, and coupled with contract renewals for Kieran Tierney and Emile Smith Rowe has further convinced him that the future is bright in north London.

Furthermore, Stan and his son Josh Kroenke issued a statement ahead of the first home game this season, acknowledging that "there is much work ahead to get back to where we need to be".

In one summer it can be argued that the Kroenke's have taken a big step towards achieving their Arsenal dream of being Premier League champions once again, whilst also winning the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

Of course, in reality, the Gunners are still some way off from being a top-four side let alone being contenders for two of club football's richest prizes.

But with a long-term plan clearly in place, barring a sudden change of heart, the Kroenke's don't appear to be moving on anytime soon and that's likely to test Henry and Ek's patience.