Arsenal’s dance with history

{"text":[[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":6.15,"text":"I took the Eurostar to Paris this week for the SportGen Summit, where attendees gawped at tennis star Jannik Sinner’s shock exit from The French Open Roland-Garros."}],[{"start":16.5,"text":"US investors have piled into European sport in recent years. In Paris, it was clear that investment firms headquartered in the region are also allocating their capital to the sector. The biggest pools of capital are still in the US, but it’s a topic I’ll be keeping an eye on."}],[{"start":32.95,"text":"For now, all attention on the Champions League final and the remarkable turnaround of New York City’s beloved basketball team."}],[{"start":40.150000000000006,"text":"Do read on — Samuel Agini, sports business correspondent"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":44.650000000000006,"text":"Stan Kroenke’s gradual Arsenal turnaround"}],[{"start":47.800000000000004,"text":"Arsenal supporters used to want “Kroenke out”. Those calls have died down now that the Gunners have won their first Premier League title in 22 years. Beating Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final later today would be a crowning moment for billionaire sports tycoon Stan Kroenke and son Josh."}],[{"start":66.45,"text":"A lot has changed at Arsenal since the club lost to FC Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final."}],[{"start":74.05,"text":"That season, PSG finished ninth in the French league. These days, they’re a powerhouse. Now owned by state-backed Qatar Sports Investments, the defending champions of Europe have transformed into a winning machine and will be anything but a pushover for Arsenal. "}],[{"start":88.7,"text":"Transformation is the word in Paris and north London."}],[{"start":92.25,"text":"In 2005-06, Arsenal made a net profit of £7.9mn on revenues of £137mn. Its shares were still publicly traded. The club said goodbye to Highbury before moving to the 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium. Arsène Wenger was still the manager. The women’s team was still known as Arsenal Ladies. "}],[{"start":113.8,"text":"The following year, Kroenke bought a 9.99 per cent stake, valuing Arsenal at £420mn. That was a snip. He had to be patient and more willing to spend on the rest."}],[{"start":126.75,"text":"However, Arsenal were on the decline. The price of building a new stadium was the debt that limited what the club could afford to spend on players in the transfer market. Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City took advantage of Arsenal’s decline, picking up some of the London team’s best players to expand their own trophy cabinets."}],[{"start":146.15,"text":"Fans took a dislike to Kroenke. “Spend some f****** money!” the Arsenal faithful chanted in 2013."}],[{"start":152.85,"text":"Off the pitch, Kroenke increased his stake. He emerged victorious in a battle for outright ownership of Arsenal, overcoming rival interest from Uzbek-born metals magnate Alisher Usmanov. Kroenke’s purchase of Usmanov’s 30 per cent stake in 2018 valued the club at £1.8bn. "}],[{"start":171.04999999999998,"text":"The mood is different these days. Spanish coach Mikel Arteta has transformed the men’s team into winners. Stan and Josh Kroenke stood in front of the Arsenal fans without inciting a riot. The fact they were holding the Premier League trophy undoubtedly helped. Arsenal Women attract the biggest crowds in the Women’s Super League. The Kroenkes plan to expand the Emirates. World leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, are just some of the cheering fans."}],[{"start":199.2,"text":"All that adds up."}],[{"start":201.45,"text":"Arsenal reported revenues of £690mn in 2024-25. That figure is expected to rise north of £700mn this season, driven by success at home and in the Champions League. "}],[{"start":214.7,"text":"Even before taking into account Arsenal’s title win, consultancy Football Benchmark put an estimated enterprise value of about €4.9bn (£4.3bn) on the club, up 23 per cent from the 2025 rankings. "}],[{"start":230.7,"text":"Beating PSG would add another trophy. It won’t hurt the valuation either."}],[{"start":235.54999999999998,"text":"How the long-suffering Knicks reached the Finals"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":239.35,"text":"New York City’s beloved basketball team is back in the NBA Finals. After almost three decades of suffering, Knicks fans flooded the streets of midtown Manhattan last Sunday night to celebrate the team clinching its first championship appearance since 1999."}],[{"start":256.55,"text":"The best-of-seven series tips off on June 3, with New York facing the winner of tonight’s crucial Game 7 between the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, led by French phenom Victor Wembanyama."}],[{"start":271.55,"text":"Whoever wins will face a Knicks team that has been scorching hot throughout the playoffs, riding an 11-game winning streak. New York has outscored its opponents by 19.4 points per game, the best point differential in NBA postseason history."}],[{"start":287.40000000000003,"text":"Following a regular season cheapened by teams “tanking” for high draft picks, the Knicks proved that it’s still possible to assemble a championship-calibre roster through trades and free agency."}],[{"start":299.6,"text":"No player in the Knicks’ starting five was drafted by the team. They lured point guard Jalen Brunson away from the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent in 2022 before he blossomed into a star in New York. Brunson extended his contract with the Knicks two years later — a team-friendly deal that provided the franchise with salary cap flexibility to build a championship contending roster."}],[{"start":324.1,"text":"The rest of the team’s line-up consists of Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — talented players who were acquired in blockbuster trades. But the Knicks resisted the temptation to make a splashy deal for a higher-priced star such as Giannis Antetokounmpo. "}],[{"start":341.55,"text":"The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement imposes luxury taxes on teams that exceed the league’s “soft” salary cap. While the Knicks have the second-highest payroll in the league, the franchise remains below the dreaded “second apron” — a higher financial threshold set at roughly $208mn this season. Teams in this tier face harsh roster-building restrictions designed to prevent the formation of the “superteams” of a previous era."}],[{"start":366.25,"text":"That’s not to say the Knicks haven’t gambled with money. Last year, they made the costly decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau, fresh off the team’s first conference finals appearance in a quarter-century. The franchise still owed Thibodeau about $30mn from a contract extension he signed the previous season. They replaced him with Mike Brown, a respected coach whose hiring nevertheless invited scepticism over whether he could take the team further. "}],[{"start":394.15,"text":"But the bet has paid off, providing a moment of redemption for the Knicks’ notorious owner, James Dolan. Since inheriting his father’s sports and entertainment empire — which also includes Madison Square Garden and the NHL’s New York Rangers — Dolan’s Knicks have been defined by losing seasons, organisational instability and his petty feuds with franchise legends and fans alike."}],[{"start":417.4,"text":"Now Dolan is winning over investors too. Last week his company, MSG Sports, took the first formal step towards splitting the Knicks and the NY Rangers hockey team — with the idea that the franchises would be worth more as two separate publicly traded companies (Sportico values the Knicks at $9.85bn)."}],[{"start":438.04999999999995,"text":"Shares of MSGS hit a record high on Tuesday after the Knicks advanced to the Finals. Tickets for the upcoming games in New York are the most expensive ever for the NBA championship, with get-in prices near $4,000. The Knicks’ first title since 1973 would send this basketball-mad city into a frenzy. It might also cement the NBA’s next financial behemoth."}],[{"start":461.79999999999995,"text":"Highlights"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":463.15,"text":"Officials in New York and New Jersey demanded information from Fifa as part of a probe into ticket-selling practices at the world football governing body and organiser of the World Cup. “Fifa has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices — all at the expense of consumers and hardworking New Jerseyans,” said Jennifer Davenport, the state’s attorney-general."}],[{"start":487.54999999999995,"text":"Mexico will host Iran’s football team at the World Cup. “The US doesn’t want the Iranian squad to stay overnight in the US . . . So they asked us if they could stay in Mexico and we said we had no problem,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum."}],[{"start":501.04999999999995,"text":"The Enhanced Games, otherwise known as the steroid Olympics, fell short of their own finishing line, argues science commentator Anjana Ahuja."}],[{"start":510.19999999999993,"text":"ESPN’s $100mn man sat down for Lunch with the FT. Last year, the sports media host Stephen A Smith signed a new contract reportedly worth about $20mn a year over five years with the Disney-owned broadcaster. Critics argue that his format has been bad for the discourse in sports. How does he respond?"}],[{"start":531.3499999999999,"text":"The FT’s deputy weekend news editor tried to improve his golf. This is his take on the new high-tech golf experience near London. Give it a read."}],[{"start":540.8499999999999,"text":"Double Fault"}],[{"start":542.6999999999999,"text":"We usually go for a video here, but this week we bring you a meme."}],[{"start":547.3499999999999,"text":"Roland-Garros wants to set the record straight. Its name is Roland-Garros. No, you can’t call it the French Open. Even Drake knows that. Right, Drake?"}],[{"start":556.6999999999999,"text":"To be fair, it’s not the first branding issue of its kind to plague a competition."}],[{"start":561.2499999999999,"text":"The Open, the oldest golf major, is often called The British Open in the US."}],[{"start":566.7999999999998,"text":"It’s just The Open. "}],[{"start":568.7499999999999,"text":"But certainly not the French Open. Roland-Garros. OK, that’s enough."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":578.8999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780143453_7168.mp3"}