The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust will write to club Chair Chips Keswick about the compulsory takeover by Stan Kroenke "amid estimates that the new accounts, which have not yet been published, will record a significant operating loss," according to Jeremy Wilson of the London TELEGRAPH. Arsenal would usually hold an annual general meeting of shareholders this month, but that event "will not take place now that the club is wholly owned by Kroenke." Fans, though, still want answers to several questions and the AST will write to ask Keswick why there was "no explicit recommendation of Kroenke’s offer from the board." They also want to know when Arsenal became aware that CEO Ivan Gazidis would be leaving for AC Milan at the end of this month. Arsenal would usually also have already published its accounts for the year ending May '18 ahead of an AGM, although the club "can now wait until well into the new year" before providing its financial information. Accountants advising the AST have drawn up a projection of the accounts. A combination of a "significant rise in the club’s wage bill" and a drop in revenues after not qualifying for the Champions League is "forecast to result in a sizeable operating loss" (TELEGRAPH, 10/17).
