Stan Kroenke has met the Arsenal board for the first time. The American billionaire arrived at about 2pm yesterday and spent two hours being shown around the Emirates Stadium by Keith Edelman, the club’s managing director.

The club have been trying to forge a stronger relationship with Kroenke in recent weeks, with the threat of a takeover from Alisher Usmanov. The Uzbek billionaire increased his stake in the club to 23 per cent last week, prompting Arsenal to hold face-to-face talks with Farhad Moshiri, his partner in Red and White Holdings.

Kroenke was also shown around the club’s extensive property developments, the money from which will help to pay off the debt incurred from building the new facility. The Colorado Rapids, the Major League Soccer team owned by Kroenke, and Arsenal also have a commercial tie-up, but he has not increased his shareholding from the 12.19 per cent that he acquired in April.

However, evidence of his ambition could be demonstrated by how close he is to completing a deal to acquire half the club’s broadband broadcasting rights from ITV. He paid a nonrefundable £7.5 million deposit on the £23 million agreed for the rights when he struck a deal to buy the broadcaster’s stake in the club.

Kroenke had met Peter Hill-Wood, the Arsenal chairman, and Edelman in New York in June to discuss his intentions. It is not clear whether Kroenke will attend the club’s annual meeting at the Emirates Stadium on October 18. He is to be in London ten days later for the NFL game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins at Wembley.

The Arsenal board has appealed to shareholders to think twice before giving in to the temptation to sell their stakes – with the share price rising by £50 to £10,350 yesterday – in a letter with the annual report and accounts last week. It values Arsenal at £644 million, excluding their debt.