As one of the biggest teams in the Premier League, Arsenal have worldwide appeal, and making the most of this appeal includes going on pre-season tours overseas.
Last summer, Arsenal embarked on a pre-season tour of the United States, while this summer saw the Gunners play games in Asia.
When it comes to the subject of playing Premier League games overseas, Josh Kroenke suggested last year that he opposes the idea.
However, the subject is now a hot topic again after Spain’s football federation approved plans to play Villarreal’s La Liga game against Barcelona in the United States.
GRV Media’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content Adam Williams has given his verdict on where Arsenal could stand on the subject if and when the question is raised again.
Williams, speaking exclusively to Arsenal Insider, noted that, while Josh Kroenke suggested he was against the plan, he also noted how KSE owner Stan Kroenke previously moved an NFL franchise to a different city 2,000 miles away.
This suggests Stan could potentially U-turn on Josh’s plan, according to Williams.
And while Premier League clubs are still mindful of the PR blow from the failed European Super League plot, Williams reckons it’s only a matter of time before the possibility of English top-flight matches taking place overseas is raised again.
“Stan Kroenke has previously picked up an NFL franchise in St Louis and moved it to Los Angeles 2,000 miles away, so it’s fair to say he isn’t philosophically opposed to removing a team from its geography if he thinks there is a commercial case for doing so,” Williams exclusively told Arsenal Insider.
“That ended up costing him about £600million, but he doesn’t regret it one bit.
“Clearly, voting for Arsenal to play one or two competitive games abroad would be a less drastic step than that.
“But then again, there will be inevitable resistance from fans, and the European Super League showed that owners are susceptible to that kind of pressure.
“The group that would probably be organising this kind of initiative if the Premier League one day chose to pursue it would be Relevant Sports, a huge global marketing agency.
“They have the commercial rights to the Champions League and the mood music in the industry is that it’s only a matter of time until we see Champions League matches in the US.
“Arsenal have also played in the International Champions Cup recently, which was Relevant Sports’ brainchild.
“As far as the Premier League is concerned, the party line is that they are opposed to matches overseas.
“They have the Premier League Summer Series, which is kind of an approximation of this. Arsenal will probably play in that friendly competition one day.
“But the lure of a full-blown competitive match in America is too strong for some owners.
“Instinctively, I would have put the Kroenkes in that camp. However, a year ago, Josh Kroenke said that it wasn’t something they as a club wanted to do.
“That said, we’re still ultimately in the aftermath of the Super League plot and the owners and their PR people are conscious of not being seen to break any of the promises that they made when they were forced to U-turn
“I think in a few years time, we’re likely to see the possibility of matches in the US raised again.”
Williams spoke of how Spanish football is “further down the track” than English football, but he suspects that the latter will be heading that way, with many deeming it “inevitable”.
He continued: “Spanish football is already further down the track with this than we are. They have played the Supercopa in Saudi Arabia the last four years.
“Unfortunately, I think the direction of travel with English football is probably going to go this way. It would require approval from the FA, I believe. That might be one of the backstop powers.
“The independent regulator might also have something to say about it, but their purview isn’t really to get involved in commercial matters.
“That’s why many people in football finance think this is inevitable for the Premier League.”
