Alisher Usmanov has £1billion offer to buy Arsenal rejected by Stan Kroenke

Arsenal minority shareholder Alisher Usmanov

Stan Kroenke has rejected a £1billion takeover bid from Alisher Usmanov to buy Arsenal.

Usmanov currently owns 30 per cent of the Gunners but does not hold a seat on the board and repeatedly blamed majority shareholder Kroenke for the club's inability to compete for the game's biggest prizes in recent seasons.

His relationship with majority shareholder Kroenke is distant- at best- and Standard Sport understands the American businessman has indicated he is unwilling to sell at this time, despite the club facing a £50m shortfall by failing to qualify for the Champions League.

Arsenal have to beat Everton in their final League game on Sunday and hope either Liverpool draw with Middlesbrough or Watford beat Manchester City with a five-goal swing.

Usmanov has not yet received a formal response to his offer but it is believed that Kroenke remains fully committed to the club and wholly supportive of manager Arsene Wenger.

The 63-year-old has consistently offered his backing to Wenger, labelling him the club's "main asset" in March 2016.

Last month Usmanov was damning in his assessment of Kroenke and the Arsenal board, insisting they must "bear huge responsibility" for the club's struggles this season.

"I do not think that the coach alone is to be blamed for what is happening," Usmanov said. "Some continuity is needed.

"This includes the need to prepare a successor for Wenger, but in a very respectful way. I can suggest that Wenger himself can prepare a successor."

​Usmanov increased his stake to 30 per cent last year when he bought out Farhad Moshiri, who sold up to take control of Everton.

Forbes ranks Usmanov as the 66th richest individual in the world and the fifth richest in Russia, with his net worth having grown by over £2bn in the last year alone to £11.2bn.

Usmanov initially made his fortune through the production of plastic bags, a scarce commodity in the former Soviet Union. The majority of his wealth comes from metal and mining operations and he is the majority shareholder in Metalloinvest.

Arsenal have declined to comment.

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