Members of the Arsenal Supporters' Trust (AST) haven't forgotten about the £3-million payment that Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) - owned by Arsenal's majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke - received from the club.
On Thursday, Arsenal's chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, threatened to stop the club's annual general meeting after supporters demanded answers regarding the controversial payment and pressed for details.
Related: Arsenal Supporters' Trust 'extremely disappointed' by £3-million payment to Kroenke
The payment marked the second year in a row that KSE has received £3 million from Arsenal. Keswick defended last year's fee as good value, suggesting it was crucial to the progress of the club, whose supporters pay the highest admission prices in the Premier League.
At the annual general meeting, however, Keswick was far more equivocal in attempting to explain why KSE deserved the payment.
"I felt it was right to pay a fee for a wide range of services provided by KSE," Keswick said, according to Amy Lawrence of the Guardian. "We should not be in a position where we expect these things to come for nothing - that would not be good governance. I would remind you that KSE is one of the most respected sports organisations in the United States.
"This has contributed to our positive evolution in a number of areas. Finally, I'd remind everyone that we have a majority owner who is respectful of our traditions."
Keswick's response triggered heckling from shareholders and a comical follow-up question from the floor: "Is there a written contract or is it like (Michel) Platini and (Sepp) Blatter's verbal agreement?"
Related: Report: Platini didn't have written contract for £1.35-million FIFA payment
The question didn't sit well with Keswick, who answered by saying: "I am not Mr. Platini, I am not Mr. Blatter, and there is not a written whatever-you-wanted because as I have explained, good advice is where you can get it and how you get it and if you get good advice then you succeed. If you don't get the right advice, you fail.
"You cannot codify how many times we have taken advice or how we have taken them. I will make no attempt to do so except to say we get the best advice as quick as we possibly can, and if you want proof of what that is worth, you can look at this (nodding to the FA Cup), look at that (the Community Shield), and look at our accounts.
"I don't know how many of you here run your own businesses but those of you who do will know that the best advice you can get is the quick advice from people - and this is the point - in other organisations who know more about the problem than you do. If you are humble enough to accept that then you go and you get good advice. That is precisely what we do at Arsenal with KSE."
It's worth noting that Alisher Usmanov, who is Arsenal's second-largest shareholder (his Red and White Securities owns 30 percent of the club's shares), reportedly wrote to Arsenal before the meeting to seek clarification over whether "value for money is being obtained."
