Every time the ball hits the back of the net, you would think joy engulfs me, but it doesn’t – especially when these goals are coming from the left foot of a certain Dutchman.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for every three points we gain to move up the table, but seeing Robin van Persie scoring over and over again makes me more anxious and nervous, as he is yet to open contract negotiations over a new deal with Arsenal.
The 28-year-old made himself clear in September that he will put his contract dealings aside until the end of the season. He’s only got 18 months left on his current contract and the way he’s playing, it’s inevitable that the vultures will start to circle. This is why the inaction of the Arsenal board surprises me and with Man City and Real Madrid expressing their interests, the board best get a move on and secure RVP to a new deal.
It’s not the first time that Arsenal stars have been chased by Europe’s elite. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and Juventus have all been after our stars at some point in the last six years. Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas, Alexander Hleb and Samir Nasri are just some of the names that come to the mind when you look at the current speculation surrounding Van Persie.
But how does his situation compare with that of his former team-mates? Is this slowly becoming a recurring theme at the Emirates, or does Van Persie’s situation surpass the importance of the others? If you ask me, it most certainly does.
Vieira was the first to leave. He was an exceptional player for us, but as Arsene Wenger said, he gave his best years for the club and left at the age of 30. Moreover, his departure didn’t mean we were losing our biggest name despite being our skipper at the time because Thierry Henry was still viewed as out talisman at the time. Vieira also left in good terms with the club having just won the FA Cup in 2005.
Next was Henry. He was declining as a footballer by the time he left, but still, losing the greatest player in the club’s history was an emotional rollercoaster for all the fans. Wenger managed to get almost £17 million for a player well past his prime and if viewed with common sense, it was the right move for Arsenal and also Thierry Henry at that time.
We then lost the likes of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor to the billions of City. These were mere glitches in Wenger’s youth project that was being built around one particular player, Cesc Fabregas.
Yep, we have been a selling club for a few years now but no one seems to admit it!
If we lose van persie more will follow … we cannot keep losing our best players because our other good players will start to realise that we are never going to go forward so to win they will move.
In that sense its incredibly important to keep him … but perhaps the damage has already been done with cesc and nasri.
At the moment we’re a selling club, we’ve shown no great desire to hold onto our players, sadly. I don’t mind selling an unhappy player if we actually replace them, something we’ve failed to do of late. If we get the touted figure of £41 million for RVP my only desire will be that we plough it back into new players.
I love RVP and would rather he finished his career with us, but if he decides he want’s to go then we’re selling an aging striker at nearly £40 million proffit – will we do the right thing with that money if we get it? I don’t know but my hopes aren’t high.
Still love Wenger.
For us fans stateside it does not seem worth another trip to London. I hated when Kroenke bought in because his whole history here is mediocrity and cheapness. His MSL team surprised everyone and won the league and have since diminished. His NBA team could not hold it’s biggest star with a brilliant coach, the Rams, are now called the lambs…I know the supportes all wanted to keep the club “English” but we would have been better off with the Russina. I mean is he anymore odious then Kroenke? That said RVP needs a big time salary if the club wants to stay a big time club. Money is the rule not good intenetions. I do not want the board to be City sheiks that is obviously impossible, but the wage structure is to low. Does anyone think the parasites with money will not go after Wilshire, Ramsey or any of their good young players. Arsene develope finished products…that said they should have kept Cesc for two more years the dude had four left on his contract. ???..