He brought in Keith Edelman. Until recent months, he said little despite the importance of his position. He failed to show up at the first AGM in the new stadium. His wealth on paper has increased significantly on the back of his investment in Arsenal. He has fallen out big time with David Dein. And now, finally, Arsenal’s principle shareholder is communicating directly with Arsenal fans through the Arsenal Supporters Trust.

The message of the meeting between AST representatives and Fiszman (held before the home game v Sparta Prague) has been reported elsewhere, but to summarize the main points:

He told fans to ignore all the media speculation that he is about to sell his stake. He is actually looking to spend more time on club issues as he winds down his involvement in other companies.

He has not considered a price at which he would be prepared to sell out, using the analogy of moving into the new stadium with moving into a dream home. ‘You don’t think about the value because you don’t want to sell’. The commitment he had previously made not to sell his shares applies for much longer than next April when the one year ‘lock-in’ agreed by the directors on the board soon after David Dein’s departure expires.

He confirmed the belief that the Board leave all footballing decisions to Arsene Wenger and are prepared to support the manager with any activity he wished to make in the transfer market. Arsene is very happy working with Ken Friar to complete transfer dealings and it seems this arrangement will continue.

He confirmed that, unlike in 2006, he will be at the club AGM in October and that he would maintain a dialogue with the Arsenal Supporters Trust and all Arsenal supporters, who he cares passionately about ‘doing the best for’.

All well and good, but there are questions that, for an opening meeting, the Trust never got around to asking, probably fearful that having finally got access to the man after years of trying, they would not get another one. But that’s not to stop the onlinegooner wondering:

When will we get a genuinely convincing explanation for the sale of a portion of his shares in early 2006, as opposed to the tidying up the portfolio explanation given at the time?

What was behind his huge fallout with David Dein several years ago?

Did he, at any point in the past few months, actively seek a buyer for his shares, as word in financial circles had it?

These are the type of questions we’d really like to know the answers to, but Fiszman’s indication that he is on this for the long haul and his appreciation of the vital ‘custodianship’ of Arsenal issue is, at the this time, a hugely encouraging message.

There are many things the current board have done (and have failed to address) and continue to do which can be criticised. But the reason that I have maintained a ‘better the devil you know’ stance since the Kroenke investment is that the existing board only take money directly out of Arsenal via the wages paid to certain directors. There are no dividends paid and the majority of the board seem so independently wealthy that they do not need to consider cashing in on their shares.

In a sense, the key player in this status quo in terms of the ownership and control of Arsenal is Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith. Painted as a woman of mystery for her being even more silent than Fiszman, she could easily have sold out when David Dein attempted to deliver her shares to team Kroenke in the spring, the move that probably led to the vice-chariman’s downfall as Lady Nina stayed loyal to the board.

Subsequent events in Dein’s plotting to win back a controlling postion at Arsenal have certainly shone a very positive light on Lady Nina’s decision.

So let’s hope that the major shareholders amongst the directors do stick around for a while. I wouldn’t have any particular objection to their bringing some fresh directors onto the board who are slightly younger and maybe a little more in touch with the rank and file in terms of their football experience, but on the share ownership level, not sanctioning the removal of money from the club can only be a good thing, and long may that continue.

Frankly, it seems unlikely that either Messrs Kroenke or Usmanov are in this purely for the love of Arsenal. Danny Fiszman may love money too, but at least he is telling us that he has no intention to cash in at a potentially turbulent time for the club. And that is a message Arsenal fans should be glad to hear.

For more details about the Arsenal Supporters Trust and how to join (and thus become a de facto shareholder of Arsenal through the shares owned by the Trust) click here