Arsenal are bracing for a possible takeover battle after a boardroom split prompted the exit of vice-chairman David Dein, the man credited with much of the club's success over the past decade.

The split surfaced after the purchase of an 11 per cent stake in the club by US billionaire Stan Kroenke and a widely-held belief he is planning to buy the north London club - with Dein potentially having a role in the takeover.

Club chairman Peter Hill-Wood made clear the board's opposition to any such move by Kroenke, saying: "Call me old fashioned, but we don't need his money and we don't want his sort.

"Our objective is to keep Arsenal English - albeit with a lot of foreign players. I don't know for certain if Kroenke will mount a hostile takeover, but we shall resist it with all our might."

Hill-Wood also dismissed the idea of a new buyer spending heavily in the transfer market. Referring to the US ownership of Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa, he said: "We are all being seduced that the Americans will ride into town with pots of cash for new players. It simply isn't the case.

"He would have to spend a fortune to buy the club, he has already spent millions on acquiring shares, so who thinks he is then going to spend fortunes on players?"

Hill-Wood said the rift with Dein, who has a 14.5 per cent stake, had been "festering for some time" before his departure on Wednesday.

"We had an idea that he was in league with Kroenke and the board did not know what was going on . . . we suspected that he knew Kroenke far more than he was letting on."

As for the future, Hill-Wood said: "I know it is suspected that Dein will be back, but that is very unlikely I would say. Kroenke would need to reach 50 per cent of the shareholding and that would be a risky strategy if there are 45 per cent of the shares held on the board by people who will resist his overtures."