Arsenal co-chairman Josh Kroenke was in attendance for the Arsenal Women ’s Champions League triumph against Barcelona on Saturday night.
Renee Slegers’ team went into the game as underdogs, such is Barcelona’s dominance of European football. However, they were able to beat the odds coming out as 1-0 winners.
Stima Blackstenius’ 74th minute goal was the difference between the two sides as the Gunners won the competition for the first time since 2007. They are still the onl English team to win the competition.
Kroenke was in attendance at the final in Lisbon Portugal, to see Arsenal’s victory., and present the team with their medals. It’s the latest show of support for the Women’s team after it was announced that next season will see every Women’s home game be played at the Emirates Stadium.
His decision to attend the final comes after Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s absence from a second FA Cup final in a row prompted questions post-match. The businessman was in England for the Premier League clash between Chelsea and United just two days earlier.
Kroenke’s show of support for the Arsenal’s Women’s team will go down well. It comes after several of the Arsenal men’s players’ showed their support on social media.
There is another added layer to his attendance, with the game taking place at Sporting CP’s Estadio Jose Alvalade.
A key transfer target for the Gunners in the transfer window is Sporting’s star striker Viktor Gyokeres. The Swedish international has had another season of impressive goalscoring, having netted 39 times in 33 Liga Portugal games this season.
It has been reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano that Gyokeres is set to play his final game for Sporting on Saturday before leaving the club for a package of around £54 million.
There is no suggestion that Kroenke engaged in any sort of transfer talks over the striker while in Portugal, but he may have had the opportunity to do so. He may have also had the opportunity to build relations between the two clubs which could aid in transfer talks.
Speaking ahead of the Portuguese Cup final against Benfica, Sporting boss Rui Borges gave an update on Gyokeres. “He is very happy here,” he said.
“He is very connected to the game, he wants to score and he is obsessed with it. He is very focused on the final, he knows he had a great season.
“He is the best striker in Europe, as the numbers show,” Borges added.
“He will be attractive, but I believe that if he doesn’t leave Sporting, he will remain very committed to the club. He feels very happy here.”
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