Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke was anything but silent after watching his beloved Los Angeles Rams reach a second Super Bowl in four years.
Wearing a white NFC ‘Conference Champions’ cap and blue suit, the 74-year-old stood on the turf of the gleaming £4billlion SoFi Stadium and gushed.
The Rams had beaten the San Francisco 49ers, booking a return to the world’s most expensive stadium to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Owner Stan Kroenke celebrates the Rams reaching a second Super Bowl in four years
‘We worked on this project for a number of years and it’s wonderful to see it come to fruition,’ he told NFL Network. ‘Reaching the big game in our house means a lot, we are proud of it.’
At the last count, Kroenke was worth £9bn. The Super Bowl is expected to earn Los Angeles £350million. But he is perceived as less extravagant with time and money when it comes to Arsenal.
The last the Gunners heard from their reclusive owner was an open letter in August, published in the programme before this season’s home opener.
His previous visit to the Emirates Stadium came in May 2018 for Arsene Wenger’s final home game as manager.
Dynamic coach Sean McVay has a star-studded side featuring Odell Beckham Jr (above)
Boss Mikel Arteta flew to Denver last month — home of NBA basketball’s Nuggets and ice hockey’s Colorado Avalanche, both in the Kroenke stable — to get the green light to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Kroenke’s hands-off, absentee approach has long irked Arsenal fans but his unpopularity reached new lows last year.
After April’s botched attempt to become a founding member of the European Super League, protesters burned an effigy of the American. The next month, Spotify supremo Daniel Ek saw his bid to buy Arsenal rebuffed. Kroenke released a statement saying the club was not for sale.
Uncharacteristically, the Gunners spent £142m last summer — the highest outlay in European football.
But, since Kroenke bought an initial 9.9 per cent stake in Arsenal in 2007 (he took complete control in August 2018), the club’s stature has waned.
The gleaming £4billlion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles will host Sunday’s Super Bowl
The previous year they reached the Champions League final, a competition they played in for 19 straight seasons until 2017. Nowadays they can’t even qualify for the Europa League.
Yet if Arsenal have declined, it is little compared to events in St Louis, the Rams’ former home. All that is left of the team in that Missouri city is a dilapidated stadium and memories of the thrilling side who won the Super Bowl in 2000.
Kroenke bought the downtrodden Rams for £550m in 2010. Eight years ago, he purchased 60 acres of land in Inglewood, Los Angeles, for £75m. Further land purchases in nearby Hollywood Park ensued.
With the NFL desperate to get a team in LA after a 22-year absence, Kroenke moved the Rams back to Tinseltown in 2016. Their temporary home was the LA Coliseum and they also played one game a season in London until 2019.
Arsenal’s reclusive owner has not been seen at the Emirates Stadium since 2018
While Kroenke watched them win at Wembley, son Josh — an Arsenal director — was at the Emirates for Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.
Their new stadium opened in 2020. Kroenke and the NFL settled a £580m lawsuit with the city of St Louis over the Rams’ relocation last November.
He speculated to accumulate on the sparkling 70,000-capacity arena — which will be expanded to more than 100,000 for the Super Bowl — and developing its surrounding area. The gamble paid off with the Rams now worth more than £3bn. They have reached the play-offs four times in the last five seasons under the dynamic Sean McVay, who at 36 would be the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl.
Since Kroenke bought an initial 9.9 per cent stake in 2007, the club’s stature has waned
Asked by Sportsmail about his relationship with Kroenke, McVay said: ‘In a lot of ways he’s been a great mentor of mine. Guys like him are so special. He’s such a great leader. I love Mr Kroenke.’
With a win-now strategy, the Rams have gambled on signing the best available veteran players at the expense of dipping into the NFL draft, which is focused on future talent. The team includes a host of stars plucked from rivals.
It is another expensive roll of the dice from Kroenke which will have paid off if he is the one shouting with joy as he hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy aloft.
With the Rams on the brink of glory in LA, Arsenal fans will wonder if Silent Stan will ever make a noise in London, too.
