Not for sale: Arsenal owner Kroenke issues statement amid rumors of takeover bid by club legends Henry, Bergkamp and Vieira

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has released a statement to say that he is not interested in selling the club following the fallout of last week's ill-fated Super League proposal as rumors of a takeover bid swell.

Spotify chief Daniel Ek had reportedly made initial moves as part of a consortium also featuring Gunners icons Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira to propose a takeover bid rumored to be in the region of £1.8 billion (£2.5 billion / €2 billion) for the North London club.

News of the potential offer gained steam this week amid massive fan protests at the club's involvement as one of the founding members and initial signatories of the Super League, a proposal which lies in ruins today.

Regardless of the fan rancor, the Kroenke's are refusing to budge.

A press release issued on Tuesday by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment essentially told Ek to keep his checkbook in his pocket, and that Arsenal are not for sale at any price.

"In recent days we have noted media speculation regarding a potential takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club. We remain 100 percent committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the Club. We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer," the statement, which was attributed to both Stan and Josh Kroenke, read.

"Our ambition for Arsenal remains to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and our focus remains on improving our competitiveness on the pitch to achieve this."

This news will come as a blow to a large section of Arsenal supporters who have been openly agitating for a change in ownership. The potential bid from Ek, along with the trio of Arsenal legends, was thought to have garnered significant fan backing – particularly after scenes of fan protest outside the club's Emirates Stadium in the wake of the Super League breakaway plans.

"I wasn't surprised Arsenal were involved, given they have an American owner – an absent owner – who rarely says anything regarding the football club," said former Arsenal striker Alan Smith to Sky Sports recently.

"There is very little bond between Stan Kroenke and the club. He rarely comes over. His son has a more hands-on connection with the club, but Josh is new to the game, he's not been brought up around football.

"Kroenke obviously has seen that model work in the States with the NFL, NBA, and, along with the Liverpool and Manchester United owners, they have seen how profitable it could be."

Ek, meanwhile, is understood to be a lifelong Arsenal fan and likely represents the blueprint of the type of owner that Gunners fans would be enthusiastic about – but Kroenke's refusal to budge looks set to raise the temperature even further among a fanbase wholly unsupportive of their ownership.