Former Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick dies at 84

Former Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick has died at the age of 84. 

Keswick, a successful merchant banker, first joined the Gunners board as a director in 2005 before going on to take the mantle of chairman in 2013. He served in that role until retiring in May 2020, though he maintained an interest in the club.

A club statement read: “It is with great sadness that the club reports the death of former Chairman, Sir Chips Keswick. A lifelong Arsenal supporter, he was a regular at Highbury after first standing in the boys’ enclosure in 1949 and listed his early heroes as the Compton brothers and Jimmy Logie but, above all, goalkeeper – and later manager – George Swindin, as young Chips was a budding schoolboy keeper himself.

“But it was in the banking industry Sir Chips made his name, where he was a very senior figure for many years, rising to become Chairman of Hambros Bank and also a Director of the Bank of England. It was during his successful banking career that he became good friends with our former Chairman, Peter Hill-Wood – a former Vice-Chairman of Hambros – and Peter recognised that his business acumen, common sense and love of the Gunners would make him an ideal board member at Highbury.”

It was during Keswick’s reign as chairman that the Gunners clinched four FA Cups, along with runner-up finishes in the Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup.