Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote planning to buy Arsenal within four years

Aliko Dangote – who is said to be worth £8.3billion – revealed his intentions to purchase the Premier League giants last year.

Dangote told Bloomberg: “Maybe three to four years. The issue is that we have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out the way first and start having tailwinds. Then I’ll focus on this.”

Most of Dangote's vast wealth is tied up in Lagos-based Dangote Cement Plc - whose stock is down 4.7 per cent on last year.

That means Gunners fans Dangote has lost £3.3billion this year due to the falling value of the Nigerian currency.

Dangote added: “It’s not about buying Arsenal and just continuing with business as usual.

“It’s about buying Arsenal and turning it around. I’ve run a very successful business and I think I can also run a very successful team.

"Right now, with what we’re facing, over $20 billion of projects, I cannot do both.”