Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke blamed as force behind European Super League by Simon Jordan

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has been labelled as ‘the capital behind the European Super League’ by former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, who believes the club has started to give the American owner a ‘headache’.

The European Super League appears to have come and gone in a matter of days, with 12 clubs announcing their new plan for European football, only to be met with a wall of anger from everyone else involved in football and almost every level.

The conspirators have changed their minds and decided that a battle against fans and governing bodies is not worth their efforts, which Jordan has also criticised them for.

While he is just hypothesising, Jordan believes it is Kroenke that was the driving force behind the plans as Arsenal’s decline in recent years has begin to cost him money and cause him problems.

While Jordan is no fan of the plans, he was equally unimpressed with how easily the clubs behind the idea gave up on their scheme.

‘If this is a boxing match, these guys have started a fight and they didn’t even get off the stool, it’s contemptable,’ Jordan told talkSPORT.

‘The capital behind this is Kroenke, in my view, I look at Arsenal as a football club that accepts mediocrity.

‘When Kroenke walked through the door they were the most profitable football club in the world, look at the erosion of that club, because he doesn’t really care about a successful club.

‘He wants to run it down the middle because a successful club costs a lot of money and an unsuccessful club costs a lot of money. He’s had a club that’s run in the middle for the last 15 years.

‘Now Arsenal is causing him problems, it’s a headache, it’s losing money.

‘I think a lot of the capital behind this is Kroenke, I think [Liverpool owner John] Henry, [Manchester United owners] the Glazers are in the mix and Chelsea and Man City are lemmings who’ve jumped on the train because it was leaving the station.

‘But to fall over…if you’re going to have a fight at least have a fight, they’ve not even had a fight.’

The Arsenal board released an open letter to fans on Tuesday after their outright rejection of the European Super League plans saw the club stand down.

The letter read: ‘The last few days have shown us yet again the depth of feeling our supporters around the world have for this great club and the game we love.

‘We needed no reminding of this but the response from supporters in recent days has given us time for further reflection and deep thought.

‘It was never our intention to cause such distress, however when the invitation to join the Super League came, while knowing there were no guarantees, we did not want to be left behind to ensure we protected Arsenal and its future.

‘As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League. We made a mistake, and we apologise for it.

‘We know it will take time to restore your faith in what we are trying to achieve here at Arsenal but let us be clear that the decision to be part of the Super League was driven by our desire to protect Arsenal, the club you love, and to support the game you love through greater solidarity and financial stability.

‘Stability is essential for the game to prosper and we will continue to strive to bring the security the game needs to move forward.

‘The system needs to be fixed. We must work together to find solutions which protect the future of the game and harness the extraordinary power football has to get us on the edge of our seats.

‘Finally, we know this has been hugely unsettling at the end of what has been an incredibly difficult year for us all.

‘Our aim is always to make the right decisions for this great football club, to protect it for the future and to take us forward. We didn’t make the right decision here, which we fully accept.

‘We have heard you.’

MORE : Ian Wright calls for Stan Kroenke to leave Arsenal after European Super League withdrawal

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