Expanding the Emirates Stadium, bumper transfer spending and behind-the-scenes TV shows: How Arsenal's new board members will supercharge the club's future

An Emirates Stadium expansion, Arsenal players starring in high-profile TV productions and greater transfer spending power.

All three areas are set to be on the club’s agenda after a mighty board shake-up from out of the blue.

Many inside the club were caught unaware by last Friday’s internal email announcing Tim Lewis' exit as executive vice-chair after 18 years at the club. But quite a few weren’t, having become accustomed to a raft of executive departures of late.

In recent years, Arsenal have seen all of - deep breath - Raul Sanllehi (head of football, 2020), Huss Fahmy (director of football operations, 2020), Vinai Venkatesham (chief executive, 2024), Edu Gaspar (sporting director, 2024) and Jason Ayto (assistant sporting director, 2025) leave the club while, after long stints on the board, Ken Friar and Sir Chips Keswick both departed in 2020.

Four new non-executive directors have come in at the same time as Lewis' exit, and they provide a revealing insight into the club’s direction moving forward.

Here, Daily Mail Sport examines each of their roles and how they can supercharge the club's short and medium-term ambitions.

The first point to note is the growing influence of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE), which at £15.64billion is far and away the most valuable sports empire in the world - also taking in the NFL's LA Rams, the Denver Nuggets of the NBA and ice hockey's Colorado Avalanche.

Each of those teams have ended long title droughts in the last three years, and it's time Arsenal joined them.

Stan Kroenke acquired a 9.9 per cent stake in Arsenal in 2007, becoming majority shareholder in 2011 and assuming 100 per cent ownership in 2018, and since taking full control, KSE have stepped up their dealings.

Josh Kroenke, the family's eyes on the ground in London, is said to be gaining power as a result of Lewis' exit, and three of the four new appointments already work for KSE.

And yet it is the fourth name, Hollywood producer and director Ben Winston, who has stolen the headlines.

The executive producer of The Late Late Show with James Corden, the Grammy Awards and the long-awaited Friends reunion, Winston is, on the surface, an unusual addition to the board of a Premier League giant.

Son of professor and TV presenter Robert Winston, the 43-year-old has worked with a host of A-list names including Elton John, Adele, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and the Kardashians, while he counts the likes of David Beckham and Tom Cruise among his friends.

Winston has been an Arsenal season-ticket holder for 33 years, and in 2005 started his British production company Fulwell 73 from Islington, north London, down the road from the Emirates.

Contrary to speculation that Winston has been brought in for celebrity appeal, sources have told Daily Mail Sport that he will be looking to utilise the power of television and marketing to further elevate the Arsenal brand.

That includes the potential for shows on the likes of Netflix or Apple TV featuring players, and more celebrity crossovers.

The club are looking to become more visible globally, particularly in the US where Arsenal have made serious in-roads in recent years.

It is their largest international market commercially, the club’s American popularity reflected by NBC drawing in 2.12million viewers for Manchester City vs Arsenal on March 31 last year, which made it the most-watched Premier League game ever in the United States.

How Winston will go about his brief is intriguing, but he has already had preliminary discussions with both co-chair Josh Kroenke and manager Mikel Arteta.

The lesser-known names on the board have clearer remits. Daily Mail Sport understands one of the target areas for the new board is the Emirates Stadium expansion, and Otto Maly will be leading that charge.

Maly, a trusted figure in Kroenke’s inner circle, is president and director of special projects at Kroenke Holdings and also chairs Maly Commercial Realty. He played a central role in building SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles — a state-of-the-art, 100,000-capacity venue that cost more than £4bn to build and hosts Kroenke's Rams — as the legal officer overseeing its ownership and operations.

The Emirates was the Premier League's second-biggest stadium behind only Old Trafford when it opened in 2006 with a capacity of 60,704, but in the two decades since it has slipped behind Anfield, the London Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With revenue generation such a crucial aspect of adhering to Premier League and UEFA financial rules, stadium expansion is a key part of many clubs' future planning, with Newcastle United also likely to move past Arsenal in terms of capacity within the next decade.

As Daily Mail Sport reported last November, the Emirates can be expanded in a multitude of ways, but each route comes with its own complications. Limitations in the existing structure and location mean a massive overhaul is unlikely.

Instead, it’s understood that a more modest increase of a few thousand seats is the most likely route.

Maly’s involvement signals intent. Earlier this year, he was also chosen by Kroenke to lead a £7.5bn redevelopment of a 100-acre site in Los Angeles, which will include a new HQ for the Rams, apartments, retail outlets and entertainment spaces.

When asked about leading that project, Maly said: 'If you look at what we've done in Inglewood (with SoFi), this is a piece of cake.' That same confidence now comes to north London.

Also joining the board is Dave Steiner, another trusted Kroenke associate with a strong background in real estate investment and corporate governance. Steiner has been a long-term adviser to the Kroenke family and is expected to assist in long-term strategic planning for both commercial and infrastructure projects.

That again lines up with the Emirates expansion and a more cohesive pipeline between Kroenke HQ in Denver, Colorado and north London, 4,700 miles away.

Meanwhile, Kelly Blaha, currently senior vice-president of sports finance at KSE, brings a robust financial background and has extensive experience in auditing.

She isn’t being brought in for help with PSR compliance — Arsenal are not falling foul of either the Premier League or UEFA rules, with new chief executive Richard Garlick, promoted from managing director, one of the leading experts on PSR having previously been director of operations at the Premier League.

Sources insist Blaha will focus on long-term financial planning, not regulatory firefighting, and, if successful, will be able to open up a transfer treasure chest to keep Arsenal battling at the top for major honours.

All four of the new directors are expected to be here for the long haul, putting an end to the recent turnover in the boardroom.

It makes for an intriguing new era at Arsenal, which has the Kroenke ownership model at the heart and centre of it all.