The billionaire was criticized in certain circles, with some observers repeating he should have bought a club in his own country and not look abroad.

Meanwhile, speaking to a group of senior editors, Dangote said: “the issue is that if I buy all the Nigerian clubs, the Nigerian flags will continue to remain here. But buying Arsenal will take the Nigerian flag worldwide. Just like whenever Abrahamovich is mentioned, the name of his country, Russia comes up, everyone knows he’s Russian.”

“I still hope, one day at the right price, that I’ll buy the team,” Dangote said in an interview on a flight between Addis Ababa and Lagos in May this year,” he added.

“I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist. I know my strategy.”

If Dangote is successful with a future bid, it would make him the first African owner of a club in United Kingdom.

The businessman, who is the richest man in Africa, owns $15.7billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and was eagerly trying to buy a share in the Gunners in 2010.