After 51 years on the Arsenal board, it appears that long-serving Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood will step down from his position for health reasons, taking an honorary role and leaving a vacancy within the board of directors.

The news hasn’t exactly come as a surprise, with speculation mounting over the last few weeks about his future, combined with his earlier health problems.

Many have seen his decision as a chance for the club to move into new ground.

Future

Arsenal are concerned about how they are perceived at a boardroom level. The average age of directors is 74 and they have attracted criticism from groups like BSM and the AST for a lack of action off the pitch in terms of transfers and similar. Hill-Wood was a controversial figure, often disregarding complaints and making ill-advised comments to major club activists.

Therefore, the order of the day is a younger chairman, or a current member of the board becoming Chairman and a younger member joining as a director. The position is largely symbolic, but somebody with better PR skills may perhaps be necessary.

Candidates

There are a few...

Some are keen for former director David Dein to return to the board, but his ties to Alisher Usmanov make this extremely unlikely.

There are also calls for a ‘football man’ to be placed on the board, similar to the Bayern Munich method, with Bob Wilson the legendary former goalkeeper touted to take the role.

This would certainly add a relatable figure for fans and players alike, though Wilson’s age would also be a problem-he’s not that much younger than the man he would replace.

Another, more worrying name for some, is that of Josh Kroenke.

The son of Arsenal’s controversial majority shareholder would certainly add youth to the board, but would also represent total control by the Kroenke business over Arsenal’s affairs, which many do not want at all. For the face of the club to become an American with questionable investment in the side’s well-being would be tantamount to suicide in some quarters.

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