He’s the 164th richest man in America and his estimated net worth is around the $2 billion mark. Don’t’ start thinking he’s going to take on Roman Abramovich in the spending stakes though. Most of that money is tied up in his existing business assets – especially his real estate porfolio of shopping centres and apartment buildings. He married into the Wal-Mart family, a move that did little harm to his business ambitions. He owns stakes in American football’s St Louis Rams, basketball’s Denver Nuggets and hockey’s Colorado Avalanche. Most Arsenal fans will more likely be aware of the Colorado Rapids, his MSL soccer team that have established links with Arsenal.

Significantly, he owns a cable TV channel that is a direct rival to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Sports in the States (whether his additional purchase of ITV’s 50% ownership of Arsenal Broadband Limited has any relevance to this I’ll leave others to ponder, but I suspect he just had to take that as part of the deal). Also, he recently formed TicketHorse, a ticket company that provides in-house sales for all of his teams.

The real question for the wellbeing of Arsenal is whether or not Mr Kroenke has the financial gravitas to buy the club outright (which some say is unlikely) without putting it into even further debt in the way the Glazer family have at Old Trafford. Such a situation would be bad news indeed for Arsenal.

This assumes that he is interested in buying more shares and the other principal shareholders (Fiszman, Lady Nina and Dein - a combined 55%) are willing sellers, but with all the recent movements on the market, change is in the air. The minority shareholders could be in for a windfall with the share price now at a previously unheard of level above £6,500, but if Stan Kroenke plans to buy the club lock, stock and barrel, then they will no longer own any kind of stake in Arsenal FC. Many would see that as a sad day and a cheque from the new owner as small consolation. Most small shareholders are supporters and love the Club and have no interest in taking a profit on their shares. However as at other clubs that have been bought at a certain time they are forced to sell under compulsory purchase orders!

Let's just make one thing clear though. Stan Kroenke is a level-headed businessman. He would never splash the cash in Chelsea style. If he does take over, the hope must be that he will invest in his new asset to get the most out of his purchase. We also know that he will be more proactively interested in the success and future of Arsenal than ITV which must be a good thing. Arsenal need new blood off the field to help keep the Club at the new exalted level it is trying to achieve. Interesting times.

For those who might wish to get more involved in representing the fans to any potential new owner, the Arsenal Supporters Trust is the most appropriate organisation, and was formed to try and influence the decision-making process at board level. Go join, before it’s too late.