Stan Kroenke has purchased another 427 shares in Arsenal's parent holding company, at a cost of some £3.6million, as the American edges closer towards the takeover threshold.

The Denver-based sports magnate is now the largest individual shareholder in the Gunners, with a stake of some 29.6% after acquiring more stock from the estate of the British industrialist Ernest Harrison.

Should Kroenke, or indeed anyone else such as second-largest shareholder Alisher Usmanov, reach a figure of 29.9%, they would, under the City's financial regulations, be obliged to launch a formal takeover bid.

However, when the matter of his intentions for the Barclays Premier League club were directly questioned during the recent Annual General Meeting at Emirates Stadium, the American - nicknamed 'Silent Stan' - chose not to take the opportunity to address the gathered shareholders, with chairman Peter Hill-Wood intervening.

Any public statements against future bid intentions must be unambiguous, otherwise the individual or group would, under the Takeover Panel's rule 2.8, be prevented from making a formal move for six months.

While Hill-Wood insisted major changes behind the scenes were not on the agenda, the Arsenal chairman has also suggested he was "very relaxed" about a proposed takeover by the American. The Arsenal Supporters Trust, meanwhile, believe the latest moves do not mean a takeover from Kroenke is imminent.