The Kroenkes at Arsenal: The rise of Josh, transfer investment, and fan sentiment

克伦克家族与阿森纳：乔什的崛起、转会投资与球迷情绪

Dan SheldonSept. 4, 2025 12:12 pm

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As the final whistle went at Old Trafford after Arsenal kicked off their Premier League campaign with a victory over Manchester United, Josh Kroenke left his seat in the directors' box and headed for the dressing room.

当阿森纳在英超揭幕战战胜曼联的终场哨在老特拉福德响起时，乔什·克伦克离开主席台座位，走向了更衣室。

Having made the trip from the United States, Josh was in Manchester to watch Arsenal's first match of the season, something he does annually, and stayed on to watch their 5-0 win against Leeds United the following weekend at the Emirates Stadium.

从美国远道而来的乔什身在曼彻斯特，观看了阿森纳的赛季首战——这是他每年的惯例——并留在英国，于次周末在酋长球场观看了球队5-0战胜利兹联的比赛。

But after congratulating the players and manager Mikel Arteta at Old Trafford --- it is not unusual for Josh to venture into the dressing room following a game --- attention soon turned to planning and strategy meetings.

但在老特拉福德祝贺球员和主帅米克尔·阿尔特塔之后——乔什赛后进入更衣室并不罕见——注意力很快转向了规划与战略会议。

It has become an annual tradition for Arsenal's executive leadership --- managing director Richard Garlick and executive vice-chair Tim Lewis --- to fly to Denver, Colorado, normally coinciding with the men's international football break, to visit Stan Kroenke and Josh.

阿森纳的高层领导——总经理理查德·加里克和执行副主席蒂姆·刘易斯——飞往科罗拉多州丹佛市拜访斯坦·克伦克和乔什，已成为一年一度的传统，此行通常与男子国际足球比赛日重合。

With domestic football taking a break in March, the Kroenkes hosted the club's most senior figures for a few days.

随着三月份国内足球赛事暂停，克伦克家族接待了俱乐部的最高层人员数日。

Arsenal were embarking on a Champions League run to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, but they failed to narrow the gap on Liverpool in the Premier League.

阿森纳当时正开启闯入欧冠半决赛的征程，但他们在英超未能缩小与利物浦的差距。

A sense of disappointment had hovered over the Emirates after a January transfer window in which they needed a striker to give them a final push in the run-in, but ended up without one. A third consecutive season of finishing second beckoned.

一月份转会窗后，一种失望情绪笼罩着酋长球场，俱乐部当时需要一名前锋在冲刺阶段提供最后助力却未能如愿。连续第三个赛季获得亚军似乎在所难免。

This only added importance to the meeting between Stan Kroenke, the owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment --- the holding company of Arsenal Football Club --- and his son, Josh, who is more engaged than ever with the goings-on in north London.

这更增添了克伦克体育娱乐公司所有者斯坦·克伦克与其儿子乔什（他比以往任何时候都更深入地参与阿森纳事务）之间会晤的重要性。

Their March get-together followed a meeting in November --- during the men's international break, in Los Angeles --- to go through their plans for the 2025 summer transfer window needed to answer one question...

他们三月的聚会是在十一月份（于洛杉矶，男子国际比赛日期间）一次会议之后进行的，旨在审议为2025年夏季转会窗制定的计划，以回答一个问题……

What was needed to finally get Arteta and his squad over the line?

最终需要什么才能让阿尔特塔和他的球队突破临界点，取得成功？

The Kroenkes have just authorised another summer of significant spending.

克伦克家族刚刚批准了又一个重磅支出的夏季。

Almost £250million was spent, including the marquee signings of striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP for £54.8m and midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad for £55.8m. There was also a deal worth up to £67.5m for Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, with Josh in London playing a key role in the transfer.

支出接近2.5亿英镑，包括以5480万英镑从葡萄牙体育签下前锋维克托·约克雷斯、以5580万英镑从皇家社会签下中场马丁·苏维门迪这两笔重磅引援。还有一笔价值最高可达6750万英镑的交易，从水晶宫引进埃贝雷奇·埃泽，乔什身在伦敦，在此次转会中扮演了关键角色。

Since KSE's 2018 buyout, there has been an evident shift in Arsenal's approach to transfers.

自KSE 2018年全面收购以来，阿森纳的转会策略发生了明显转变。

Between 2018-19 and 2023-24, Arsenal had a gross spend in the region of £1.1billion. If you add 2024-25's spending (£104m) and what they forked out this summer (£245m), they are now over the £1.4bn mark. The figures from 2024-25 and 2025-26 exclude agent fees and transfer levies as we are yet to have the accounts for the year ended May 31, 2025.

在2018-19至2023-24赛季期间，阿森纳的总支出约为11亿英镑。如果加上2024-25赛季的支出（1.04亿英镑）和今夏的支出（2.45亿英镑），现已超过14亿英镑大关。2024-25和2025-26赛季的数据不含经纪人佣金和转会税款，因为我们尚未获得截至2025年5月31日年度的账目。

This spending puts them in the same ballpark as Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, but is still shy of Chelsea, who have spent more than £2bn in the same period, although their net spend will be much lower than that figure given their success at selling players.

这笔支出使阿森纳与利物浦、曼联和曼城处于同一量级，但仍低于切尔西（同期支出超过20亿英镑），不过鉴于蓝军出售球员的成功，他们的净支出将远低于该数字。

But when it comes to pursuing targets, neither Stan nor Josh get involved. They have a perspective on the profile of player Arsenal should be targeting --- young with plenty of upside --- but they are not entering negotiations with the selling club, nor will they be dealing with a target's agent.

但在追求目标方面，斯坦和乔什都不参与。他们对阿森纳应瞄准的球员类型有看法——年轻且潜力巨大——但他们不参与与出售俱乐部的谈判，也不会与目标球员的经纪人打交道。

They ensure there are checks and balances before it's too late. For example, Stan and Josh want to know why a certain decision is being made before giving the sign-off. There is a sense that by seeking justification first, it should alleviate any problems later down the line if things go wrong, be it with a player the club signed or another business decision. This has been followed with each of this summer's acquisitions.

他们确保在为时已晚之前存在制衡。例如，斯坦和乔什希望在签字批准之前了解决策背后的原因。有一种观点认为，事先寻求理由应在日后出现问题时（无论是签下的球员还是其他商业决策）减轻负面影响。今夏的每一笔签约都遵循了此流程。

But one area that has left plenty to be desired is Arsenal's difficulties in selling players, especially when compared to Liverpool and Chelsea.

但一个亟待改进的领域是阿森纳在出售球员方面的困难，特别是与利物浦和切尔西相比。

KSE wants the club to improve in this area as there is a sense they have often missed the right moment to offload a player. Given they want Arsenal to be a self-sufficient operation, maximising player value is paramount.

KSE希望俱乐部在这方面有所改进，因为他们感觉常常错失出售球员的最佳时机。鉴于他们希望阿森纳成为一个自给自足的实体，最大化球员价值至关重要。

Although Josh and Stan continue to have the final say, there has been a shift in recent years when it comes to Josh being the visible presence from KSE.

尽管乔什和斯坦继续拥有最终决定权，但近年来，在乔什作为KSE的可见代表方面已经发生了变化。

The 45-year-old was in London to sign off on the Eze transfer and was at London Colney on the day to complete the formalities of the 27-year-old winger's deal, with a beaming Josh even posing for a photo alongside Eze and Arteta.

这位45岁的高层亲临伦敦批准埃泽的转会，并于当天在伦敦科尔尼基地完成了这位27岁边锋的交易手续，笑容满面的乔什甚至与埃泽和阿尔特塔合影留念。

He has become more involved, whether it is attending the women's Champions League triumph and celebrating on the pitch after they beat Barcelona in Lisbon in May or being at the club's London Colney training base.

他变得更加投入，无论是参加女足欧冠夺冠庆典（五月在里斯本击败巴塞罗那后于场上庆祝），还是出现在俱乐部的伦敦科尔尼训练基地。

Josh attended Arsenal's final game of the 2024-25 season in May away at Southampton, where he sat alongside Arteta (who was serving a touchline ban) in the directors' box, before being filmed leaving the ground with Lewis. This trip coincided with further meetings about the summer.

五月，乔什参加了阿森纳2024-25赛季收官战客场对阵南安普顿的比赛，在主席台与遭停赛的阿尔特塔并肩而坐，随后被拍到与刘易斯一同离开球场。此次行程还穿插了关于夏季计划的进一步会议。

Although he would talk to the players, Josh isn't overly close with them. Declan Rice and Josh share a passion for golf and will often exchange messages, but squad members aren't getting texts after a good performance. Though on one occasion in 2022, after the men's World Cup qualifying campaign, Josh sent a message to all of the Arsenal players who had qualified for the tournament.

虽然会和球员交谈，但乔什与他们并不过分亲近。德克兰·赖斯与乔什都热爱高尔夫，经常互发信息，但队员们不会在表现优异后收到他的短信。不过在2022年男子世界杯预选赛结束后，乔什曾向所有获得决赛圈资格的阿森纳球员发送过一条信息。

Stan, 78, is not such a frequent visitor to the Emirates, last attending a Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain in October, which was his first trip to watch Arsenal at home since December 2022.

78岁的斯坦造访酋长球场的频率不高，上次是十月观看对阵巴黎圣日耳曼的欧冠比赛，那也是他自2022年12月以来首次主场观战阿森纳。

Lewis is a central figure and trusted by KSE. Even though Josh and Arteta have a good relationship, stemming back to when Arteta played for the club, Lewis is the conduit between the club and ownership.

刘易斯是核心人物，深受KSE信任。尽管乔什与阿尔特塔关系良好（可追溯至阿尔特塔为俱乐部效力的时期），但刘易斯才是俱乐部与所有权之间的沟通桥梁。

Josh was across the decision for Garlick to replace Vinai Venkatesham, who had held numerous senior roles at Arsenal culminating in serving as chief executive between 2020 and 2024, and also had a hand in who succeeded Edu after he resigned from his sporting director position in November.

乔什参与了由加里克接替维奈·文卡特山（曾在阿森纳担任多项高管职务，2020至2024年间任首席执行官）的决定，并在埃杜于十一月辞去体育总监职务后，对其继任者的选定有所介入。

He met and spoke to the various candidates, which eventually led to Andrea Berta being appointed in March.

他会见并听取了多位候选人的意见，最终于三月任命了安德烈亚·贝尔塔。

One area KSE are yet to venture into --- although it is something they continue to give consideration --- is expanding a multi-club model.

KSE尚未涉足的一个领域——尽管他们持续予以考虑——是扩展多俱乐部模式。

They own the Colorado Rapids in MLS, but have not created a network of clubs. City Football Group, for example, has 13 clubs in its portfolio. Chelsea's owners, Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, have added French side Strasbourg.

他们拥有MLS的科罗拉多急流队，但并未建立俱乐部网络。例如，城市足球集团旗下拥有13家俱乐部。切尔西的所有者清湖资本和托德·伯利已收购了法国斯特拉斯堡队。

If MLS decide to shift its calendar from February to December to August to May, taking it in line with Europe, there may be scope for further collaboration between Arsenal and Colorado Rapids, as well as the possibility of buying other clubs.

如果MLS决定将赛程从2月-12月调整为8月-5月，与欧洲接轨，那么阿森纳与科罗拉多急流之间可能存在进一步合作的空间，以及收购其他俱乐部的可能性。

When it comes to KSE's ownership of Arsenal, there is a clear dividing line between pre-2018 and post-2018 from an investment standpoint.

就KSE对阿森纳的所有权而言，从投资角度看，2018年前后存在明显分界线。

In August 2018, having been co-owners since 2007, Stan Kroenke bought Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's 30 per cent shareholding for over £600m, ending a long power struggle for ultimate control of the club and taking his total stake to 97 per cent.

2018年8月，自2007年起担任共同所有者的斯坦·克伦克以超过6亿英镑收购了俄罗斯亿万富翁阿利舍尔·乌斯马诺夫30%的股份，结束了为争夺俱乐部最终控制权而进行的长期斗争，将其总持股比例增至97%。

The American billionaire also bought out the remaining independent shareholders, taking the total cost of the transaction north of £600m, of which more than £550m was borrowed from Deutsche Bank.

这位美国亿万富翁还收购了剩余的独立股东股份，使交易总成本超过6亿英镑，其中超过5.5亿英镑是从德意志银行借入的。

"This news marks a dreadful day for Arsenal Football Club," read a statement from the Arsenal Supporters' Trust (AST).

“这个消息标志着阿森纳足球俱乐部可怕的一天，”阿森纳球迷信托（AST）的一份声明中写道。

Since their complete takeover, and up to the most recent set of accounts published on Companies House for the year ended May 31, 2024, the Kroenkes have injected £329m into the club via shareholder loans.

自完全接管以来，直至 Companies House 公布的最新一期（截至2024年5月31日年度）账目，克伦克家族已通过股东贷款向俱乐部注资3.29亿英镑。

Prior to their buyout, there was always a sense they had felt inhibited by not being in total control --- at least where investment is concerned --- and the evidence since 2018 indicates they are happy for the club to spend vast sums of money in the transfer market, as opposed to taking cash out of Arsenal via dividends.

在全面收购之前，总有一种感觉认为他们因未能完全控制（至少在投资方面）而感到束手束脚——而2018年以来的证据表明，他们乐意让俱乐部在转会市场上花费巨资，而不是通过股息从阿森纳提取现金。

There is also no suggestion in the accounts that Arsenal are having to fund any interest payments on the Deutsche Bank loan, which is accounted for on the books of Delaware-registered KSE Inc.

账目中也没有任何迹象表明阿森纳需要承担德意志银行贷款的任何利息支付，该贷款计入注册于特拉华州的KSE Inc.的账目。

As per the latest accounts, KSE have loaned nearly £330m to Arsenal and they are one of the clubs Manchester City highlighted when launching a second legal challenge against the Premier League in relation to associated-party transactions.

根据最新账目，KSE已向阿森纳出借近3.3亿英镑，她们是曼城就关联方交易向英超发起第二次法律挑战时点名的俱乐部之一。

Over £180m of this funding --- via a shareholder loan --- came in 2021 when KSE decided to take the debt from the cost of building the Emirates Stadium in-house.

其中超过1.8亿英镑的资金（通过股东贷款）于2021年注入，当时KSE决定将建设酋长球场的债务成本内部化。

Under the previous deal, the bonds were tied up with gate revenues, which took a hit during the pandemic, so the club's owners --- via Lewis --- refinanced the loans, incurring a £32m break cost to end the loan sooner than planned.

根据先前的协议，债券与门票收入挂钩，这在疫情期间受到冲击，因此俱乐部所有者——通过刘易斯——对贷款进行了再融资，并付出了3200万英镑的终止费用，以早于计划还清贷款。

This proved to be a crucial bit of business as it liberated Arsenal from punishing interest rates.

这被证明是关键之举，因为它将阿森纳从惩罚性的利率中解放出来。

It is worth noting, however, that in each of the previous four financial years, Arsenal have incurred interest costs on 'Other' items, which includes the KSE loans. In 2024, this payment was £7.8m.

然而值得注意的是，在过去四个财年中，阿森纳每年都产生了“其他”项目的利息成本（包括KSE贷款）。2024年，这笔支出为780万英镑。

It is not uncommon for Josh to take on a more prominent role as far as KSE is concerned as a company, but not micromanaging the leadership groups at their respective clubs has become a hallmark of how KSE goes about their business.

就KSE作为一家公司而言，乔什承担更突出的角色并不少见，但不微观管理旗下各俱乐部的领导团队已成为KSE行事方式的标志。

Along with Arsenal and the Colorado Rapids, their portfolio includes the NFL's LA Rams, the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche.

除阿森纳和科罗拉多急流外，他们的资产组合还包括NFL的洛杉矶公羊、NBA的丹佛掘金和NHL的科罗拉多雪崩。

In the 2024-25 NBA season, Josh, who serves as the Denver Nuggets' CEO and team president, was instrumental in sacking head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.

在2024-25 NBA赛季，担任丹佛掘金队CEO兼球队总裁的乔什，在解雇主教练迈克尔·马龙和总经理卡尔文·布思的过程中发挥了关键作用。

This led to Josh being involved in the day-to-day operations of the franchise for several months, essentially becoming the de facto general manager.

这导致乔什在数月内深入参与该球队的日常运营，实质上成为了事实上的总经理。

As a consequence of Josh needing to be across the Denver Nuggets at a time of upheaval, he was unable to attend Arsenal's memorable 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the first-leg of the Champions League quarter-final on April 10. He instead watched the game from his office in the U.S..

由于乔什需要在掘金动荡时期全身心投入，他未能出席4月10日阿森纳在欧冠四分之一决赛首回合3-0战胜皇家马德里的难忘比赛，而是从美国的办公室观看了比赛。

Although Josh didn't do anything major in terms of player decisions during that time, sacking Malone, who had guided the Nuggets to their first NBA Championship in 2023, and Booth, was a decision taken by KSE.

虽然乔什在那段时间没有在球员决策方面做任何重大事情，但解雇曾带领掘金队在2023年获得队史首个NBA总冠军的马龙和布思，是由KSE作出的决定。

Responsibility of running the Nuggets day-to-day has since been turned over to Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace.

此后，掘金队的日常运营责任已移交给了本·坦泽和乔恩·华莱士。

At the LA Rams, however, KSE's influence is much more distant.

然而，在洛杉矶公羊队，KSE的影响力则疏远得多。

Although you will see Stan and Josh at the annual league meetings, and you may catch a glimpse of them for a rare walkthrough practice before a big match, they are not involved in the day-to-day running of the franchise.

虽然你会在年度联盟会议上看到斯坦和乔什，也可能在重大比赛前罕见的全程训练中瞥见他们，但他们并不参与该球队的日常运营。

A key reason for that is in Sean McVay, the Rams' head coach, and Les Snead, the Rams' general manager, they have the perfect blend of continuity and experience.

一个关键原因在于，公羊队主教练肖恩·麦克维和总经理莱斯·斯尼德拥有延续性与经验的完美结合。

On a personal level, they are all very close, and Stan allows the senior executives to use his various properties for leadership retreats and remains looped in on major decisions that are taken, such as the Matthew Stafford trade in 2021.

在个人层面上，他们关系都非常密切，斯坦允许高管们使用他的各处物业进行领导力静修，并仍知悉所作出的重大决策，例如2021年马修·斯塔福德的交易。

Other NFL teams consider Kroenke's Rams to be one of the most executive and coach-run operations in the league.

其他NFL球队认为克伦克的公羊队是联盟中由高管和教练主导运营最彻底的球队之一。

The same could be said for the Colorado Rapids, their MLS franchise, which is viewed as one of the more conservative clubs in terms of their financial model.

他们的MLS球队科罗拉多急流队也是如此，该队在财务模式上被视为较为保守的俱乐部之一。

They aren't big spenders and seldom have marquee-type players, instead adopting an analytics-driven approach and Fran Taylor, who used to work at StatDNA for Arsenal, is running the front office there.

他们不是大支出者，很少拥有招牌式球员，而是采用数据分析驱动的方法，曾为阿森纳效力于StatDNA的弗兰·泰勒在那里负责前台运营。

When it comes to fan sentiment, the Kroenkes have had an up and down time of it.

在球迷情绪方面，克伦克家族经历了起伏。

Their takeover was met with resistance from supporters, while their decision to sign Arsenal up to the doomed European Super League (ESL) in April 2021 --- along with Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Liverpool --- was met with widespread protests.

他们的收购曾遭到球迷抵制，而他们在2021年4月决定让阿森纳加入注定失败的欧洲超级联赛（ESL）——与曼联、曼城、托特纳姆热刺、切尔西和利物浦一起——更是引发了广泛抗议。

After the ESL collapsed and the six English clubs withdrew within days, Arsenal's board released a letter to fans, saying it was never their "intention to cause such distress" and acknowledging they "made a mistake".

在ESL瓦解、六家英格兰俱乐部 within days 退出后，阿森纳董事会向球迷发布了一封信，表示他们“从未意图造成如此困扰”，并承认“犯了一个错误”。

Following the ESL debacle, Arsenal created the Arsenal Advisory Board (AAB), consisting of fan representatives and Arsenal board members and senior executives, including Josh Kroenke and Lewis. The AAB meets three times a year in person and twice virtually.

ESL失败后，阿森纳创建了阿森纳咨询委员会（AAB），由球迷代表以及阿森纳董事会成员和高管（包括乔什·克伦克和刘易斯）组成。AAB每年举行三次面对面会议和两次虚拟会议。

Given they were not necessarily in the fans' good books post-ESL, there was a realisation that the bad faith that had been created between supporters and KSE was unsustainable, hence the creation of the AAB.

鉴于ESL后他们未必在球迷那里有好感，他们意识到球迷与KSE之间产生的不信任感是不可持续的，因此创建了AAB。

Josh tends to appear via video link and those who have attended the meetings have remarked about his openness to listen to what is being said, while also noting that post-ESL, there has been more of an effort by the club and senior executives to engage with supporters.

乔什通常通过视频连线出现，与会者评论了他倾听意见的开放性，同时也指出ESL后，俱乐部和高层管理人员更加努力地与球迷互动。

One thing that went down well, for example, came last year when Josh made clear there are no plans to take a competitive Arsenal game overseas, stressing that he wants to keep the club in the heart of the Islington community.

例如，去年有一件事反响很好，乔什明确表示没有将阿森纳比赛移师海外的计划，并强调希望将俱乐部留在伊斯灵顿社区的中心。

It has also been noted how KSE's decision to empower Lewis and Garlick to run the club and to think more deeply about fan engagement.

人们也注意到KSE决定授权刘易斯和加里克管理俱乐部，并更深入地思考球迷互动。

Although season ticket prices have continued to rise, there is a sense the club has acted sensibly around them and the goodwill generated between the fans and KSE has remained stable.

尽管季票价格持续上涨，但感觉俱乐部在这方面行事明智，球迷与KSE之间产生的善意保持稳定。

Winning matches and spending money obviously makes a notable difference to fan sentiment and this summer's spending has created plenty of optimism.

赢得比赛和花钱显然对球迷情绪产生了显著影响，今夏的支出创造了大量乐观情绪。

Since taking full ownership, KSE has only overseen one domestic trophy lift --- the FA Cup in 2019-20 --- with the men's team, while the women's team have won the WSL (2018-19) and the Champions League (2024-25).

自完全控股以来，KSE仅见证男子一线队捧起一座国内奖杯——2019-20赛季的足总杯——而女队则赢得了女超联赛（WSL）（2018-19）和欧冠联赛（2024-25）。

Yet KSE's defining moment arguably still evades them, and will continue to do so until the men's team can lift either the Premier League or Champions League.

然而，可以说KSE的决定性时刻仍然尚未到来，并且将继续如此，直到男子一线队能够捧起英超或欧冠奖杯。

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Additional reporting: James McNicholas & Chris Weatherspoon

补充报道：James McNicholas & Chris Weatherspoon