Stan Kroenke to be Appointed to Arsenal board to Ward Off Unwanted Usmanov

It is all action this week in North London, both on and off the pitch.

The Gunners are away in Kiev tonight for their first match of the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League and should be aiming to get three points to get their European adventure underway.

Dynamo may have had a convincing 8-2 aggregate win over Spartak Moscow but were wholly unconvincing and extremely lucky to have defeated League of Ireland champions Drogheda United 4-3 over two legs in the second qualifying round. Having watched the match myself, it is nothing short of Kiev luck that Arsenal are not in Ireland tonight.

However, things are just as hectic back at the Emirates.

Reports from London suggest that American Stan Kroenke will join the Arsenal board at some stage this week in an attempt to ward of a possible take over by Uzbekistani Alisher Usmanov. Kroenke currently has a 12.28% stake in the club, with Usmanov holding 24.9%.

This marks a change in attitude at Arsenal. Only last year Chairman Peter Hill-Wood warned Kroenke that "his sort" were not wanted, resulting in boardroom unrest and the resignation of David Dein.

However the board has now backtracked, deciding that Kroenke's "sort" is better than the largely hated, Manchester United supporting, Usmanov. Putting it politely, Usmanov has been told where to put his oil-gained roubles.

Meanwhile, the widely anticipated appointment of Celtic's Peter Lawwell as the club's new chief executive looks unlikely to go ahead. Lawwell looked likely to replace Keith Edelman who was dismissed in May for reasons as yet unknown.

Instead. Lawwell is expected to stay at Parkhead, where he has developed a good working relationship with Gordon Strachan.

Vodafone's chief executive Paul Donovan is the only other candidate to have met with Arsene Wenger and is now favourite to fill the vacancy.

So some new faces at the Emirates and perhaps some old.

If Kroenke does, as expected, increase his stake, what are the chances of David Dein making a return to his beloved Arsenal? Meanwhile it has been made quite clear to Usmanov that his money is unwanted by at least one club in London who are sticking to their principles.

On the pitch tonight Arsenal will be without new signings Samir Nasri and Mikael Silvestre, while Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Eboue are fit.

All action for the Gunners!