Arsenal Football Club’s second-largest shareholder has temporarily stepped back from defying the club’s board over its decision not to use a rights issue to pay down debt and buy players.

Red & White Holdings, the investment vehicle jointly owned by Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov and his business partner Farhad Moshiri, said on Wednesday it did not agree with the Arsenal board’s assessment that the club had enough financial resources to manage its debt and invest in new players.