Kroenke may come on board as Arsenal close in on Ben Arfa

Arsenal are considering inviting Stan Kroenke, the American sports tycoon who has a 12 per cent stake in the club, to take a place on the board. At the same time the Premier League club have ruled out appointing a director of football to work alongside manager Arsène Wenger. But Arsenal are reviewing whether or not they need to add more than just one new person to their executive team following the abrupt departure of the managing director, Keith Edelman.

While off-the-field matters are important, Arsenal are also expected to announce soon, possibly within days, their first major signing following a disappointing end to a season that promised to deliver another League title. The most likely arrival appears to be the France international left-winger Hatem Ben Arfa, who has long been admired by Wenger and who claimed in the French sports newspaper L'Equipe that he is in talks with the Gunners. "It is true that we have spoken about Arsenal, but we will see how it is going to happen," he said.

The French season has not yet ended and Ben Arfa, a 21-year-old of Tunisian descent who can also play as a central striker, has endured a difficult season at Lyons under coach Alain Perrin. Although having just been voted the French league's young player of the season, he has been in and out of the team. Ben Arfa has been in talks to extend his contract but has sought first-team guarantees, while a swap deal involving Marseilles' Samir Nasri has also been mooted.

Arsenal know that Lyons are a notoriously difficult club to negotiate with and that Ben Arfa's public declaration may be a bargaining tool for his own ends, but an offer of more than £11m is likely to succeed. It would also be a statement of intent from the club who have been angered by suggestions that they are strapped for cash in the transfer market.

Ken Friar, Arsenal's acting manager director, has reassured the influential Arsenal Supporters Trust, that a sizeable kitty is available to Wenger which includes cash rolled over from his lack of spending last season. Arsenal are also targeting a powerful central defender and there may possibly be a third new arrival to counterbalance the loss of Mathieu Flamini and the expected departure of Alexander Hleb.

Arsenal are increasingly impressed by Kroenke and want to foster closer relationships with the American who has signed up to the lock-down agreement over share sales which effectively prevents the club being taken over before 2012 – although there is a termination clause in October 2010. Kroenke, who also has interests in ice hockey, basketball and American football, has worked hard to develop a marketing relationship with Arsenal.

It is unlikely that he will be offered a place on the board in the near future but such is the degree of trust that has developed between the parties – in contrast to the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov – that he is likely to be asked to join before the end of the year.

Arsenal are currently looking for a replacement for Edelman – the candidates are likely to come from outside the world of football – while there is thought being given to a second appointment, possibly as a deputy, and an eventual replacement for Friar who is in his seventies.

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