Kroenke invited on to board

Arsenal are rumoured to have invited American tycoon Stan Kroenke onto the Arsenal board in a bid to stave off the threat of a hostile takeover from Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

The board met billionaire Kroenke last week and it is understood they discussed the notion of inviting him to join after he had left.

The offer of an olive branch would complete a dramatic U-turn from the reception Kroenke received from the board when his initial shareholding of 11.26 per cent was revealed in April.