'Back Arteta, Kroenke out' - Arsenal fans protest against owner with flying message

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The Gunners chief bore the brunt of frustrations over the Gunners' slow-moving transfer activity prior to their clash against Aston Villa

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke found himself the subject of protests at Villa Park on Tuesday as a group of fans flew a message over the stadium calling for his head.

The initiative came from an anonymous Gunners supporter who, under the username Kroenke0ut, raised £1,750 on the crowdfunding site JustGiving in order to hire an airplane bearing the message ‘’Back Arteta Kroenke Out".

"Mikel Arteta has expressed his concerns over our transfer budget for the upcoming transfer window," the organiser stated on the website.

"Now it’s time for us to express ours. Help fund this banner and the whole of Arsenal will undoubtebly see the discontent within the fanbase.

"It’s time to put some real pressure on Kroenke and the board!"

More than 150 fellow Arsenal fans supported the proposal, meaning Kroenke0ut passed the stated target of £1,700 in just a handful of days.

And as promised an airplane was spotted over Villa Park as Arsenal prepared to kick off against Aston Villa, bearing the criticism of the club chief while backing rookie manager Arteta in his debut season with the north Londoners.

Kroenke has found himself in the firing line despite this week's victories over Liverpool and Manchester City due to a perceived unwillingness to spend heavily in order to reinforce the Gunners squad.

A failure to secure European football for 2020-21 - Arsenal currently lie eighth in the Premier League, outside of even the Europa League spots - would further condition their transfer activities, although Arteta himself sought to play down the significance of their final league position.

"I've said it before that I do not think we should bring in players who need a lot of convincing," Arteta told reporters prior to the Villa clash. "This club has enough to be attracted to it.

"The feeling I get when I talk to a lot of people is the players still want to come to the club, because of the history, the way we do things, our values, the fans that we have and our stadium. They are really attractive things.

"Our obligation with this club is to fight for silverware, to be with the top teams."

2020-07-21 23:00:02

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