Robin van Persie‘s statements yesterday that he is happy with his current contract seem to have been somewhat misinterpreted by the UK’s scandal-crazy media. Somehow van Persie’s statements – including the lines “It’s not just about me, it’s about the team… I don’t think it’s clever [to be negotiating] during the season” – have become “I don’t want to be here and I’m not signing a new contract”. Confused? Good, me too.
The Dutchman is one of Arsenal‘s longest-serving players at present, alongside goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. He was made the club captain this summer following the departure of Cesc Fabregas, and has been praised by both Arsene Wenger and Pat Rice for the way he has stepped up to the role so far in the new season. Last season, as rumours began to swirl around Fabregas, Samir Nasri and others, van Persie stated on more than one occasion his desire to win trophies at Arsenal.
The real concern behind van Persie’s statements, though, is whether or not he should be saying anything in response to enquiries around the status of his contract. Having lived through two years of second-guessing and press intrigue around Fabregas’ future, van Persie must be well aware of the destabilising effect such stories can have on a squad’s togetherness and morale. It is unlikely that many of Arsenal’s younger stars, craving and desperate for the leader that van Persie is blossoming into, will go unaffected by the days of speculation we can expect off the back of the striker’s comments.
The Dutchman voiced his concerns following the sales of Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, Emmanuel Eboue and Armand Traore in the summer that Arsenal needed to act fast to bulk up their squad. It was not the first time van Persie has aired this opinion – but Wenger responded in emphatic fashion this time around, signing five key players in the last two days of the transfer window. The captures of Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta, Andre Santos, Chu-Young Park and Yossi Benayoun demonstrate a clear intent from Wenger to break the habit of a lifetime and improve the club for the short term as opposed to playing the waiting game.
Van Persie, of course, has every right to answer questions – as the club captain, he arguably is more entitled to do so than the likes of Nasri, who used the press to make his intentions painfully clear to Wenger in the summer – and his supporters will undoubtedly argue that the Dutchman was trying to answer the question honestly and bluntly. Indeed, one could draw from the comments that van Persie’s intention was simply to end rumours about contract negotiations altogether. He is, after all, hardly the first player to ask for talks of a new deal to be delayed until the off-season, and he is also right in pointing out Arsenal’s crammed schedule – the Gunners have played ten games already in this six-week-old 2011/12 season, and are in action again on Wednesday as they entertain Olympiakos.
While van Persie may have had good intentions in providing such a full and honest response, then, it could also be argued that he should have considered the possible recriminations of his words. The rumour mill has already begun. The Sun’s article on the story this morning, absurdly, carries the headline “Robin van Persie in contract threat”. Arsenal’s own website, meanwhile, rather nervously features as its main article “Wenger: Why I made van Persie captain”.
Entirely overlooked amid the contract hubbub, meanwhile, the Dutchman notched his 100th goal for Arsenal this weekend. Congratulations, Robin – but have fun finding a quiet moment to celebrate.
Written by Rob Schatten for FootballFanCast.com
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If I was playing for a team that are reportedly a “big team”, then I would also want reassurances that we can challenge for trophies, so who can blame RvP if he is stalling. Wenger seems to buy inferior players and expects them to perform to the highest level, forgetting that these players are probably in the last throws of their career. I know we have Mertsacker, Benayoun & Arteta who so far have performed satisfactorily, but we need some new blood who will actually try to win games & challenge opponents for the ball.