Arsenal’s hot-shot Dutch striker Robin van Persie has had the season he’s been threatening for a long, long time. He scored 37 goals in 48 games for the Gunners, 30 of which have come in the Premier League, winning him the Golden Boot. He earned the Football Writers’ Player of the Year award and the PFA Player of the Year award and heads into Euro 2012 in the form of his life. Put simply, Holland have a great chance with van Persie spearheading their attack. He’s fit, fresh and in the absolute prime of his career.
As the curtain closed on the domestic season and speculation was rife about the 28-year old’s future, the man himself has chosen to remain calm, refusing to speculate on what will happen this summer. He has one year left on his Arsenal contract and manager Arsene Wenger is keen to extend the Dutchman’s services well beyond the next 12 months. Talks over van Persie’s future have, however, been put on hold – following a meeting with the Arsenal boss and club chief executive Ivan Gazidis on Wednesday just, no final decision was made and a conclusion will seemingly be reached after the Euros.
The silence must be deafening for Arsenal fans. This is a very eerie repeat of what happened with Cesc Fabregas last year and Thierry Henry a few years before – key players, talismen for the club, who kept quiet about their future and eventually, predictably, moved on to pastures new. The club, operating under a rigid wage policy, will no doubt be hoping to reach a positive conclusion with RvP but just how ambitious are they about Arsenal’s future and would they be willing to demonstrate that by offering the Dutchman a mega-bucks contract extension? It very much remains to be seen and, as is so often the case, van Persie’s hush-hush attitude on the matter will only serve to worry the Gunners faithful even more.
Let’s face it, while the striker has enjoyed his most prolific season and has pocketed three awards, he will have swapped it all in a heartbeat for a Premier League or Champions League trophy – two competitions which Arsenal, sadly, haven’t looked close to winning this season (despite their triumphant efforts against AC Milan in the latter tournament). Personal pride for a player is a great thing but this is a team game and van Persie will have been gutted that Arsenal finished 19 points off the top spot in this season’s league campaign. A number of clubs are said to be keenly monitoring van Persie’s situation – Man City are one of them. Roberto Mancini will be looking to strengthen after clinching the club’s first Premier League title and with Edin Dzeko possibly heading out the door (as well as uncertainty over the futures of Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli), who better to draft in than the best striker in the league? Bigger wages, better chance of trophies – sadly, that’s the facts that Arsenal would have to deal with.
It would be a real shame to see Robin van Persie make a play away from Arsenal, particularly after the club has lost so many key men in the past. The man with a ‘wand of a left foot’ (thank you, Gary Neville), has become synonymous with everything good the Gunners have produced this season and is integral to their style of play. But, as the clock ticks by and Arsenal pass another season by without a trophy, his head will slowly be turning and – it’s sad to say – who could blame him? There aren’t many strikers of his quality around so maybe it’s time for the top brass at the club to break the mould, show some grand ambition and ensure van Persie that the future – with him in it – is very much a red and white one.
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No, the actual fact is that his contract negotiations were not completed in 1 day. That is all. Anything else is just stirring it up. You’re not going to get many readers with an article titled “Van Persie contract…we know sweet FA”
are you? So you create something which you has no substance other then your own opinion
Robin has been a loyal servant to Arsenal. 8 years is a big chunk out of anyones caree. He will always get a good reception from me if he leaves. BUT lets not forget Arsenal have been very loyal to Robin. Sticking with him through his long list of of injuries and therefore indifferent form.
I get a bit sick of the same old crap, people saying “who could blame him” At some point the players MUST take some responsibility for the lack of trophies !!! RVP has played his part in ALL of those seasons. His form has been nothing like this current seasons. Even when he was fit. Wenger bought that potential and believed in that potential, he could have bailed on RVP, but he didn’t !!!! It seems to me, like Nasiri before him, RVP has magically hits the form of his life, just as the shop window opens !!!!! Prove me wrong, Show me some loyalty Robin, Show that class we know you have, It’s time to repay everyone who believed in you !!!!!
Football is a team sport. World class players (Cesc, RvP) win nothing if surrounded by donkeys. Who’s responsible for filling the Arsenal first team with Denilson, Almunia, Squillaci, Chamakh, Bendtner, Diaby, Park etc. and paying them ridiculous salaries (55-60K/week each).
Cesc tried so hard to carry these donkeys. It was Van Persie this season. Can’t blame Cesc and RvP for leaving.
.. and that’s exactly what I think will happen. VanPersie is Mr.Arsenal, he loves the club and has a chance to be as big as his idol Denis Bergkamp. He may stay and if he does on club’s promise to reinforce, next season could be Arsenal’s. Arsenal luck may change. Robin’s full fantastic season could be a sign of things to come after long bad luck with injuries to so many players. I feel Arsenal is just about to click in and once they do they will be no stopping them. They outplayed Man City lately and they will again next season. Mancini is shrewd and would want nothing more than shift the balance to his favour by stealing Persie from Arsenal.
Bye bye van Persie, gooners get use to the fact that you are nothing more than a feeder club for man city.
We are going through the same charade the club has gone through at the end of each season since Wenger arrived at the club.
How many times has the player stayed?
Arsenal are in a market when it comes to selling players- having received over 70m in cash for the sale of 4 first choice players to Manchester City. So why are we not in the same market for buying players?
What Wenger and the Arsenal BoD hope is that all Arsenal punters are mugs like the AKB and think the only point of a football club is for the BoD to make huge profits on their share value. The “sustainability” policy is a smokescreen for the manager and B0D to charge sky high prices for tickets in order for them to spend as little as they can possibly get away with on the team. Who has ever heard of a sustainable business plan which is based on selling your biggest assets to your rivals- and they buying inferior assets?