Forget for now any coming cold war of Russian billions scrapping American bonds for the summit of the Premier League. At Arsenal the conflict is intense between trans-Pacific new wealth and English old money, whipped up by a man who for so long manipulated the latter. When David Dein dramatically switched stalking horses on Thursday for the second time in a year, the Arsenal board’s already fraught life became more complex still. Suddenly the confederacy of nonmajority shareholders who run the debt-laden club was fighting the predatory interests of not just one foreign billionaire, but two. And both had been drawn into the fray by their erstwhile vice-chairman.

Stan Kroenke was introduced to the club by Dein, who sought to persuade his board that the American sports magnate’s riches would enable Arsenal to compete with the refinanced Chelsea and Manchester United. His argument was poorly received, Kroenke bought 12.2% of the club shares regardless and Dein resigned amid predictions that he would sell his own, slightly larger, stake in return for directorial control of a posttakeover Arsenal. That deal was never completed.

Enter Alisher Usmanov, a hitherto little-known Russian metals and media oligarch and newfound friend of Dein. In partnership with the Iranian-born fund manager Farhad Moshiri, he formed a company called Red and White Holdings, appointed Dein its chairman and paid him £75m for his 14.6% share of Arsenal. “I am delighted to have found, in Farhad Moshiri and Alisher Usmanov, individuals who share my vision for Arsenal and of where it needs to go to be the world’s leading football club,” said Dein.

No mention was made of Kroenke’s vision for the business. The word from the United States was that he had been unimpressed by Dein’s methods and manner, ultimately thinking better of handing the 63-year-old day-to-day power at Arsenal upon adding it to an empire that already includes franchises in the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer.

Dein’s belief that his plans for steering the company were superior to anyone else’s had been similarly ill-received by fellow board members. The fractious issue of new investment aside, his departure was preceded by tensions over a new stadium – Dein opposed building from scratch at Ashburton Grove – plus his predilection for organising player transfers and contract renegotiations through his son Darren and agent Jerome Anderson. Managing director Keith Edelman eventually inserted himself into the process.

Having complicated the buyout process by introducing two new significant shareholders (officially Red and White is only “hypothetically” interested in a takeover), Dein appears to have convinced himself that his new Russian ally will grant the unfettered power he desires. Usmanov may not be the man to make such a calculation about. Described by those who know him as “a real tough guy, even by Russian standards” and “very difficult to do business with”, the Uzbek-born former Soviet political prisoner is a formidable force. Usmanov is worth an estimated £3billion, placing him among the 20 richest Russians and 300 wealthiest individuals in the world. Favoured by Russian president Vladimir Putin, he has expanded a business empire that began with plastic bag manufacturing in the 1980s – Roman Abramovich’s first wife was an employee – into iron ore, steel, television stations, publishing and mobile phones.

Last year he bought the liberal newspaper Kommersant from Badri Patarkatsishvili, one of the secretive investors in Media Sports Investment, the former owners of Carlos Tevez’s economic rights. Usmanov’s representatives say his relationship with Patarkatsishvili and Kommersant’s previous owner and fellow MSI investor Boris Berezovsky is purely business. A former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has raised questions about Usmanov’s dealings with Uzbek president Islam Karimov, whom Murray accuses of “vicious human rights abuses”. Usmanov is also reported to have links with the KGB and the Russian mafia, which he denies. “I don’t pay to anyone one kopek,” he has said. “I don’t have illegal money. I keep my name and my face clean. I am an open and honest person. I am no criminal. Not everybody in the Soviet Union is a crook.”

A few hours after announcing the purchase of Dein’s shares, Usmanov’s lawyers faxed a legal warning to newspapers, which read: “Mr Usmanov was imprisoned for various offences under the old Soviet regime. We wish to make it clear our client did not commit any of the offences with which he was charged. He was fully pardoned after President Mikhail Gorbachev took office. All references to these matters have now been expunged from police records . . . Mr Usmanov does not have any criminal record.”

Stuck in the middle of Dein’s hunt for a man affluent enough to buy him back into control of the club he loves is the club itself. While Arsenal have stepped away from the financial precipice they trod in replacing Highbury, they remain by some margin the most economically hamstrung member of the Premiership’s big four.

According to the club, Ashburton Grove delivers £20m a season in extra revenue, but it comes with a £260m mortgage that costs £18m a year in interest payments. Although the board insists the debts do not curtail spending on the team and that the club has large amounts of cash at hand, their last accounts reported that close to two-thirds of their £53m bank balance was unusable under the terms of their loans. Over the past three summers the squad has shed high earners Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, and lost Edu and Ashley Cole to wage disputes, the latter for the sake of saving £260,000 per annum.

Frequently outspoken about disparities in wealth in the past, Arsène Wenger walked a diplomatic line last week. “At the moment we are not short of money because we are doing very well,” he said. “I would maybe buy one player if I suddenly was given £100m, but I work with what is realistic. Can my team at the moment be successful? Yes. Are they hungry? Yes. Do they have enough quality? Yes.” Wenger sought to distance himself from his friend Dein, talked about his duty to Arsenal as “an employee” and reiterated his belief that football clubs should be “self-sufficient” and operate according to their “natural resources”.

Only when asked if he agreed that Arsenal require investment to continue competing at the top level did the manager waver. “In the short term, no. You have to see how the game’s evolution is in the next four or five years. But if I want to buy a player today, I have money available. Will I need it in four or five years? I don’t know. Maybe it depends how much money the other clubs have and what the average salary is. But, once we’ve paid for the stadium, I’ll see where we stand.”

That won’t be for 25 years – at least while the current board is in situ. More likely is that Wenger will have to see where he stands once Kroenke and Usmanov have worked on shareholders far less wealthy than themselves. Both parties will attempt to persuade Danny Fiszman to cash in on his 24.1% holding, which by Friday’s stock market close was worth £120m. Meanwhile, the Geneva-based diamond dealer appears set on leveraging his position of power in the takeover battle into one of more influence in the club.

See, cold wars, they’re great for politics.

Power struggle: who will get his hands on the Gunners?

David Dein The former vice-chairman may have upset one or two on the board before his April resignation, but he kept the respect of manager Arsène Wenger

Alisher Usmanov Dein’s billionaire Russian backer says he does not intend to launch a takeover bid yet, but to ‘steadily increase my package because I think the value of it will grow’. A spate of other purchases and the small print in a stock market announcement suggest otherwise

Stan Kroenke The US billionaire used Dein to get a foothold, then dumped him. Distancing himself from Dein has made him more acceptable to the current board

Danny Fiszman The major shareholder sold £3.9m of his shares to Kroenke. Says he won’t sell his remaining 24.1% until April. He is agitating for more power

Keith Edelman Managing director since 2000, he pushed through the move to the new stadium, against Dein’s wishes. Their relationship deteriorated and there is no desire to work together again