New Manchester United Chief Executive Officer Richard Arnold had a honest conversation with leaders of a section of the club's fanbase who were looking to stage a protest in another attempt to oust the Glazers ownership. The new Red Devils chief was quizzed on different subjects pertaining to the ciub by the frustrated supporters after he met them at a local pub in order to stop the protests from taking place outside his house.
Manchester United are far from being on course for next season despite hitting an all-time low in the Premier League last season. With that behind and the arrival of Erik ten Hag, the club is expected to gradualy steered back on course and to the level they were previously known for. However, the task will not come easy and there are even indications that the club is struggling to do business in the transfer market after failing to secure Champions League qualification for the 2022/2023 season.
On Saturday, English news outlet JOE, reported that the some fans of Manchester United had planned to unfurl banners outside the gates of the club's CEO's home. The primary objective was to demand that he and the Glazers leave the club. According to the report, the group arranged to meet in a pub close to Arnold's home in before the protest began but were surprised when the successor of former CEO Ed Woodward met them there instead.
In a series of video that were taken during the conversation and leaked after, Arnold was quizzed on subjects ranging from the Glazer familly ownership to the individuals that were responsible for the leaks within the dressing room. In one instance, he described the season as a "f****** nightmare".
An account given to JOE by one of the group members present reads as follows: "By the time most of the lads had got there they were ripping into him, saying the Glazers have done f*** all for the last 17 years."
"We're not making him [Arnold] out to be a hero, but we respect the fact he came out to see us and speak about things.
"He's basically asking for a clean slate because he's just started his role. He's saying that none of the last 17 years is his fault."
The protest which eventually abandoned on Saturday was done in support of The 1958 - a group which has staged a series of protests against the Glazer family's ownership in recent times. Targeting United's major sponsors and stakeholders in an attempt to force them to sell is central to their strategies.
"The thing he kept saying was that attacking sponsors and investors is damaging the club" the source that spoke to JOE added.
"So what The '58 are doing is working. "He's saying 'If you love United, you're not helping United.' I asked him what would he have us do instead and he shrugged.
"We are trying to damage the club so sponsorship stops and they are forced to sell."
Arnold on the Glazers and sponsors:
— Paul, Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll) June 18, 2022
"They're rock hard, They're not frightened." pic.twitter.com/bI3Iz0NMWC
"He told us protests can carry on but that we can't have flares inside the Munich Tunnel or the ground.
"He said carry on protesting and that he'd pushed for those protests not to be stopped, even though others have asked for them to be banned."
On the subject of dressing room leaks and summer transfer plans, Arnold revealed to the group that the former might not happen again as two of "the two sources of the leaks [Lingard and Pogba] have now left the club."
Richard Arnold on protests at Old Trafford, Sancho and Rashford after the Euro's: pic.twitter.com/XmaLWHFHiU
— Paul, Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll) June 18, 2022
"He said Murtough is working from 6 in the morning til 10 at night trying to get the De Jong deal done," the source told JOE.
"There's £200m for transfers. He wouldn't let any other targets slip.
"He was honest with us and that helped defuse the situation. There were around 20 of us in there and telling him exactly what we thought but by the end of it, we'd piped down."
