LONDON: American businessman and Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has upped his stake in the Premier League leaders – at the same time as the club announced a ticket price rise.

Koenke is investing a further £199,000 in the Premier League leaders in buying 13 more shares – eight at £15,500 and five at £15,000.

He now holds a stake of 41,596 shares in the Gunners – or 66.85pc of the total – through his company Kroenke Sports Enterprises.

Arsenal has two other major shareholders including Alisher Usmanov and David Dein’s Red and White Holdings as well as the Fanshare scheme.

Already the most expensive ticket in town, Arsenal are putting up prices by three per cent next season. The club says this is only in line with inflation but some econimic statistics put the rate at ‘only’ 2.2pc.

However this will be only the third across-the-board increase on prices in the nine seasons since Arsenal left Highbury.

Prices within the Family or Young Guns Enclosure for Team JGs (four to 16 years) and Young Guns (12 to 16 years) to attend B and C category matches will remain unchanged at £10.

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