Dein says Arsenal needs to change with the times

The former vice-chairman of English Arsenal made another plea for the club to take in investment or be left behind.

Dein basically got into trouble with the club for courting overseas investors in April. He was in talks with U.S. billionaire Stan Kroenke, and then recently sold his 14.58-percent share of Arsenal to Uzbek businessman Alisher Usmanov.

Arsenal told Dein to leave a few months ago, and has closed ranks from allowing Kroenke any more than the 12-plus percent stake he has in the club.

"The landscape has changed," Dein told the Sunday Telegraph. "It's not about today, it's about the vision for the future. In the last few years we have seen overseas investors pour their money into clubs, making it more difficult for everyone else and making the transfer market more competitive. "We have to look three to five years forward and I believe the club will need extra investment if it wants to win the major trophies. I believe that if we really want to be No 1 we have to bring more firepower to the Gunners "

Dein said he has been concerned with the high amounts of foreign influence pouring into rival clubs. Not, he said, because he is concerned about foreign influence on football, but because the overseas investors bring more cash flow to the club.

Usmanov said he will be looking at ways to take over the club.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.