Arsenal will remain in the hands of the current shareholder-executives at least until next year, according to the club's managing director, Keith Edelman. His comment came after mounting speculation last week that the billionaires Stan Kroenke and Bernie Ecclestone were vying to make imminent bids for the club.
Edelman, who is the highest-paid executive on the board, said there would be no developments in the short term. "There isn't much in this issue. I think the current shareholders have committed themselves to the club and believe in the club."
That commitment extends to more than half the shareholders by equity value, who have signed a "lock-down" agreement in which they have pledged not to part with their stock before next March at the earliest. Kroenke refused to align himself with this agreement when invited to do so by Edelman and the Arsenal chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, last month but he will be unable to launch a successful takeover bid if the signatories stick by the agreement.
A spokesman for the Arsenal Supporters' Trust said: "The AST has a good relationship with the Arsenal board and the club's other major shareholders. In light of yesterday's media coverage we spoke to all of them to see if the press reports of an imminent takeover were accurate. They confirmed our suspicions that the stories were wrong.
Thierry Henry is expected to make his first appearance in a Barcelona shirt on the club's pre-season tour of Scotland.
He trained with his new team-mates on Saturday as the team prepared for their first match, against Dundee United on Thursday, followed by a match at Hearts two days later, with Barca's manager Frank Rijkaard tipping the former Arsenal striker to "play some minutes".
Henry's arrival coincides with Rijkaard's attempts to restore harmony at Barcelona after last season's trophy-less campaign.
"We're starting from zero," said the manager. "We don't want to repeat the experience of last year. We have a strong squad . . . and the players are in good shape."
Tottenham's manager Martin Jol has defensive problems piling up after one of his new signings,Younes Kaboul, became the sixth defender on the casualty list after being injured as Spurs' South African tour got off to a winning start.
Kaboul, the France Under-21 defender signed from Auxerre for €11.883 million last month, needed emergency dental treatment after being kicked in the face seconds into Tottenham's 2-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs in Durban. The central defender was caught by the boot of the former Charlton striker Shaun Bartlett and had to have several teeth glued back in place. He is set to miss Tottenham's remaining games in the Vodacom Challenge.
Spurs were already without five defenders, including their captain, Ledley King, who is recovering from a knee operation, and the £10m signing Gareth Bale, who was injured in the friendly against St Patrick's Athletic in Dublin last week.
Ajax midfielder Edgar Davids is facing at least three months on the sidelines after breaking his leg in a pre-season friendly.
The former Holland international was left with a broken shin bone after colliding with an opponent in the match against Dutch second division side Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer.
