Soccer:Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has denied any knowledge of a takeover of the Barclays Premier League club by interests in the Middle East.

American Stan Kroenke and Russian Alisher Usmanov are the major shareholders in the Gunners and Hill-Wood does not expect either to be keen to sell their stake. Asked about a possible £1.5billion takeover, Hill-Wood admitted: “I have heard nothing and I don’t think anybody knows anything about it at the club.

“It all seems a bit of a waste of time. If there is this consortium, they can’t make any progress unless they attempt to get in touch. So I can’t say if there is anything to it or not. But even if they did make an approach, my understanding is our two major shareholders do not want to sell.”