We make £35,000 a minute on matchdays - we don't need Usmanov's money , insists Arsenal chief

Edelman says the board have been "perplexed" by Usmanov's aggressive share acquisition and says his logic is "bizarre".

Usmanov upped the ante in the boardroom battle last week by revealing he intends to buy a "blocking stake" in the Premier League leaders and that he believes the business is "undervalued".

Red and White Holdings, which is joint owned by Usmanov and is chaired by former Gunners director David Dein, wants to increase its 21 per cent holding to 25 per cent plus one share. Should Usmanov reach the 30 per cent threshold, he would be obliged to make an offer for the club.

But Edelman is confident the Russian will not get his hands on a club which today posted record profits from a £200.8million turnover that proves that Arsenal can compete without foreign investment.

The Gunners chalk up £3.1m every home game, around £35,000 for every minute played.

And Edelman told the Evening Standard: "We feel pretty confident we have a majority of shareholders on our side. Looking through the share register, we could expect to get another 5 to 10 per cent in addition to the 45 per cent in the boardroom.

"The majority shareholders are firm that they want to stay stakeholders in Arsenal. We have a model where we have a group of shareholders with great affinity for the club, who are fans of the club and who love the club.

"That is a more attractive model to me than buying a club just to make a financial return on it. We run this business not just for this year or next year but the next decade and the two decades after."

Edelman admits the board have been bemused by Usmanov's tactics.

He said: "It is bizarre and perplexing. If he thinks the club is undervalued why would he want to make it difficult for us to run the club? "The only thing he can control is calling emergency general meetings. We have had two special resolutions in the last two decades — both to do with building Emirates Stadium.

"I don't understand the logic being put forward. The idea that we need a wealthy investor is not right, if you look at our results. We are perfectly okay as we are.

"He can't go above 29.9 per cent in the next six months. If he does it would trigger a mandatory bid and that bid would fail."

Arsenal's optimism off the pitch is reflected by increasing effectiveness on it, where they increased their lead at the summit of the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Derby at the weekend.

The hero was Emmanuel Adebayor, who scored the first hat-trick in Emirates Stadium and received the ultimate compliment from manager Arsene Wenger.

The manager said: "I think Adebayor has a fantastic partnership with [Robin] an Persie. Van Persie is a bit Berkgamp and Adebayor is a bit Thierry Henry in their similarities. They complement each other."