Dein: Arsenal need a billionaire

David Dein has declared that Arsenal need a billionaire investor if they are to keep the pace with their rivals. Dein's comments come at a time when Arsenal's season appears to have crumbled as Liverpool knocked the Gunners out of the Champions League and seemingly ended their Premiership hopes.

Dein told the new issue of World Soccer: "That is a sensitive question. As a devoted Arsenal fan I don't want to see them left behind.

"The fact that they have now got effectively two billionaires [Usmanov and Stan Kroenke] as shareholders puts them in good stead for the future, no matter what might happen.

"We are in a different game here. Nothing lasts for ever; football must move with the times.

"For example, the Arsenal team Arsene Wenger inherited was all-English. Changes on the pitch, changes in the boardroom. You always have to be open-minded.

"Anyway, if you have foreign players on the pitch it is hypocritical to say you can't have foreign ownership or overseas directors."