I am quite surprised to still find Arsenal supporters who actually believe that van Persie was serious when he wrote that he was not going to renew his contract because he wanted to go to a club where he would win trophies.
Although, I am not 100% convinced that he personally wrote or even endorsed the piece that everyone refers to on the web site that bares his name; I do think on balance that we have to believe it because, quite simply, he has never denied it. Either way, one indisputable fact remains and that is that he has not signed a new contract but in my view it is absolute tosh that the trophy thing is the real issue.
The idea that you are going to automatically re-sign to Arsenal is naïve to the point of being childish.
Put yourself in his and his family’s shoes and the truth jumps out at you. You are 29 you have one last chance of securing yourself a long contract. Given this back drop, 99% of adults with half a brain would shop around, which is exactly what Van Persie is doing right now and if a club offer him a 5 year deal; well, he is going to take it in the same way as Vieira did at Juve.
There is a further similarity between these two players as it raises the same question then with Vieira as now with Van Persie: do Arsenal really want to keep the Dutchman? Well, they didn’t want Vieira enough to match Juve’s five year offer and I don’t believe that Arsenal would be prepared to commit to having to pay van Persie with his injury record for a further five years.
On a side note, has anyone else noticed how we have formed an unlikely alliance with manu over the potential purchase of RvP. What I mean is that it has suited both sides to let this rumour continue.
There is no way in the world that manu are going to push the boat out for a 29 year old injury prone player with the resale value of a two week old fish. But, to their naive fans that have their heads buried in the sand like ostriches trying desperately to deny a new footballing financial world exists; a world in which they are dwarfed by city and have no more financial clout than we do. Ok, so they probably realise they have dropped in the pecking order to City but there is no way they are ready to accept spending parity with us. To the average manu fan the possible purchase of RvP gives the impression that they are on a higher financial rung than we are which with their annual interest payments is nonsense. What we get is that manu’s involvement will drive RvP’s price up.
When this manu interest evaporates as could other clubs interest in him then Van Persie may well stay but it will have nothing to do with winning trophies, it will be all about taking the best offer on the table.
He’s Robin van Persie he signs when he wants.
Ok, that bit probably gave away the fact that I still have a soft spot for Sir Robin and it would take no more that one swim around the goldfish bowl for me to forget all about the nasty stuff and welcome him back with open arms.
Did anyone else do this? When I read that he was not going to sign a new contract one of my first knee jerk reactions was to zap my favourite game of last season – Chelsea away.
You remember, Terry pretending that he fell over to mask his lack of speed and RvP running on to score. I thought at the time of zapping that there is no way I could watch that game ever again – but now I am starting to think, what happens if he stays? Has anyone else got that game recorded because I am really going to have to come round someone’s house to watch it again?
Written by LB
Arsenal News 24/7
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Great post LB. If you’d have written this a month ago I’d have said you were mad, but now I can see there is a chance he could stay and do it without appearing to back down.
If we do sign Cazorla added to Podolski and Giroud (and maybe one other) then the ambition RvP claimed the club lacked would be proven. Comparing manu’s squad with Arsenal’s I’d say we have a better outlook next season than them. All we will need is a bit of luck with injuries and to be tactically astute and we can rightly be optimistic and RvP could be a part of that.
Didn’t RVP provide the link to the statement on his website? It’s all well and good wanting money, but we all believed RVP was different. He had become our leader, a massive fan favourite. Yet he gave the club and supporters a cheap shot.
I know you have a small window in football to make money, but how much is to much? If he stayed with Arsenal he would of been immortalized forever, with opportunities to mentor, coach, anything! Now if he goes the fans will never want him back.
Viera left at the right time, and we had cesc to take over so everyone could tolerate the departure. Richie said it perfectly this morning ‘RVP is like a cheating girlfriend’
Couldn’t disagree more LB
A forgotten player or Arsenal legend?
All the money in the world can’t buy you that!
But haven’t Arsenal offered him a long term contract?
I was just browsing through NewsNow and came across an interesting title ‘He signs when he wants’. I thought, hm, that sounds good, chose it and was promptly redirected to here!! I should have known 🙂
Great stuff LB, thank you
Morning Oz
Did you really expect me to write something that everyone agreed with?
Lol.
Kim
Arsenal have almost certainly offered him a new contract but how long would guess it is?
Thanks Evonne
A little something to help the side out on a slow football news Saturday.
LB – the last 3 paragraphs are mine! I am sure I wrote them 🙂
“Ok, that bit probably gave away the fact that I still have a soft spot for Sir Robin and it would take no more that one swim around the goldfish bowl for me to forget all about the nasty stuff and welcome him back with open arms.”
Ego can be destructive. At the moment RvP is still an Arsenal player. I wouldn’t want to vilify him now and have to offer only token support if he takes to the pitch for us next season. In the same way, RvP will need to feel that he can change his mind without looking weak.
I still think that it is more likely he will go, but if he does stay, I shall banish all memory of what went on this summer and take joy again in his exceptional talent.
I wil be a happy man if RVP signs 4 Arsenal.
Good post LB, but i disagree mostly
Burnt bridges and all.
I totally understand wanting a better final contract and doing the best for his family, but you don’t diss the club or your manager that has stuck by you through thick and thin.
“i’m not re-signing because i need a final bumper contract for x amount of years and arsenal cannot offer me that” would have been enough.
If he stays fine, i’ll support him, but its tarnished, and if the statement wasn’t true, he should have denied it.
I’m looking forward to Giroud leading the line, and only want to see RVP if he’s 100% focused with no regrets, other than regret for his stupid statement that has resulted in a self inflicted demolition of his god like status that he had with us fans.
If he stays it will be because we didn’t accept an offer. We know the offers are there, we don’t know when or if Arsenal will bite.
For me if he stays it should be on his existing terms. We should remove our offer from the table. If the statement wasn’t his it was the work of his agent, but he allowed that agent to control both his twitter and the website which bears his name. Either way it took away all his negotiating strength with the club, as it made it clear in the public eye that the club was being held to ransom.
As I said at the time, if his statement had said, “the offer from Arsenal did not match my desire to make the future of my family financially secure” I think I would have more respect for it, to include complaints about trophies etc was insulting to the club, and more importantly to fans intelligence.
We will be stronger with him than without him.
By the way LB thanks for the post, as I said yesterday your views on negotiations and rumours is always interesting.
Morning GiE, I don’t want to go over our varying versions of the reasons for RvP releasing his statement again, but I do believe that both PHW and AW made comments that would have gone against RvP’s understanding of the spirit of the ‘agreement’ to keep schtum until after the Euros. His wording was equally ill timed and poorly expressed. None of us know what influence his advisors/agent had in his actions – it is quite possible he was wound up and just acted stupidly.
do u all remember…RVP…has said he not attracted by money but the honour of the club…but now he demand on that thing?…is that all is only dramas?…common guy let times make the decision for him…we will know what will happen after this…but, we all know…since gunners…we all r gunners forever…yea…gunners is alive does’t matter who is out or in….love gunner
You’re right, there’s nothing wrong with van Persie looking at all his options. With our partisan obsession for Arsenal, we might not understand why one of our idols would leave for mere money. But with contracts worth tens of millions, and with van Persie on his last big contract, it seems fair enough for money to be a big part of it. And trophies too – we recruit players from lesser clubs because we represent a better bet for those with ambitions, so it would be churlish to criticise van Persie for looking elsewhere for success, even if we do look a better prospect for trophies than for a long time.
If that were the limit of it, we’d be disappointed for van Persie, a player with whom we’ve been so patient, to decide to leave, but we’d respect him. The unnecessary bit is his public statement, and however this saga plays out, my respect for van Persie the man will forever be reduced by what he said.
And yes, whatever the conspiracy theorists might say, those are his words. One of his agents may have drafted the statement, but van Persie put his name to it, including the bits about the club not being ambitious and disagreeing with the direction we’re taking, despite the recovery last season from a disastrous start to take third place and despite being the most active club in the transfer market this summer. Van Persie is a grownup and he is accountable for his statement.
As club captain, a senior player and as a simple employee of the club, he has a duty not to damage the club. The statement did precisely that, in the name of advancing van Persie’s personal interests. He didn’t need to say anything, he could have done what Ronaldo did and collaborate with the club to get his move but at the best price. He also said he’d keep schtum about contract matters but deliberately breached that agreement, despite all that the club, Wenger and the fans have done for him.
I admit that I’m the sort to bear a grudge, I sometimes forgive but I don’t forget, so my attitude is: sod him. We have reason to look at next season with hope, with our performance from October last year being virtually as good as the two Manchesters and with quality players being brought into the club. We certainly don’t want players who aren’t committed to our efforts to succeed. If van Persie wants to go, get rid, sell him to Juve or Milan. He could have gone with affection, he chose to throw that away.
may26 you said what i wanted to say
but you put it so much better.
well played sir
I wnt to advise RVP if he wnt 2 stay make u sty if u wnt leave let him go, arsenal go see striker way ill bettr u more dan u do.
Cheers Tommy, liked what you said too!
You’ll are forgetting how egotistic RvP is.. ofcoz he didn’t say he wants to leave but after one more season at arsenal that sure is the case.. Like you, i still have a soft spot for the guy and want him to stay but i would’t raise my hopes due to some Arsene signings (which is surprising) unless RvP wants to take credit for it and the club backs him so he wont look like an Idiot.. which wont happen.
This is obviously a topic that is exercising the minds of Arsenal supporters – we’ve had 5,500 hits in the first hour.
I have let my guard down and started to believe the PR coming from the club, I’m sure in their eyes its all about getting the best price for RvP, and if LB is right and with RvP it’s all about the money, then they’re both playing the same game.
It has long been Arsene’s policy to offer only one year contracts to players approaching thirty. However, it does seem that in the case of van Persie he was prepared to offer a three year extension. For a player with the Dutchman’s injury history this seems, to me at least, fairly generous.
I can’t see any top level club offering a longer contract than that already on offer but no doubt someone will be willing to pay an enhanced wage.
It is difficult to see how van Persie can come out of the present debacle with any shred of credibility, having put himself firmly in the shop window he now sees that others do not match his own, or his agents, valuation.
It seems likely that van Persie will travel with his club-mates to Germany for a training camp and possibly a place in the team to face Cologne in a friendly. Will he get a starting place, if so will he wear the captain’s armband? If he does then Vermaelen will not be too chuffed.
Personally I’d prefer to see him remain on the bench and give some playing time to two strikers, who definitely will be ours next season, Podolski and Giroud.
Morning all
LB – you are such a romantic 😉 I was prepared to carry on loving the fat bench warmer if he stayed so I’m sure as hell not going to stop loving RvP if he stays for a while longer. I love the idea of us being in cahoots with the manks – they’re such a deluded bunch hahaha
p.s. don’t worry, i’ve got the chelsea away game saved xx
Excellent post LB 🙂
I love your style of writing: there is always an element of mischief in it, and it is best to read your posts and comments carefully, in order to both get the full value out of it and not be fooled by you. You also know how to choose a great title. 😉
He might sign when he wants, but I don’t want him any more. If Cazorla is joining us, and I still regard that as a big IF, we will have spent in the region of £45m. As Micky said recently, the books will have to balanced, and I would hate us to (have to) hold on to Brave Sir Robin, and instead let the likes of Song or Theo go. The latter two are now far more important to Arsenal as we bought two replacements for the traitor this summer.
Sod van Persie. I hate him so much because I loved him so much.
TotAl – you are spot on.
But if he signs up for 4 years on his current contract then i’ll believe that it was about ambition.
Then i’ll believe it was out of love and frustration with the club. then i’ll love him
if not sod him and sell him to city not juventus coz then i get to hate him every week on match of the day
and lets be honest he won’t improve them as much as cazorla, podolski and giroud will improve us
A conc. smoking GUNNER till i die. RVP we love and cherish u to the extend that the only reason y i read news on dailies is to knw the latest about RVP. who made u a golden boy? how much do u think u worth with out Wenger. trophies will come when they will come. heaping blames on wenger even when we play against the officials. y looking 4 better players when the biggest clubs are coming 4 ours that u said cant win. ok barca coming 4 song, man city, man u, chelsea juv, wining trophies with our players, is it not the same people we ofloaded that won trophies 4 city? aiygbene yak, the best striker in europe, but the worst in 9ja. pls if u want 2 go, make way!
LB, great post mate. It must be all that bike riding you do up mount everest that gives you your clarity. Saying that, i dont like it when some one does the dirty on Arsenal Football Club and that statement from RVP and his agents was essentialy a Whores letter “ime available at the right price”.
Many people are now having there eyes opened. We are not some crappy also run. We are a club that is entering a new era, one which will see us compete and win the big prizes.
RVP will get his lucrative contract somewere but at the end of the day Arsenal will be succesful with or without Van Persie.
I agreed 100% with VP’s statement. The club should not take any offence infact those same sentiments were stated by on many alog over the last 3/4 seasons.
In my book VP you are the man. Players are about what they do on the pitch NOT what they say on their blogs. If he signs I am happy to say.
Welcome back CAPTAIN!! You are a great player.
Crispen. Captains are about what they do on the pitch in the dressing room and in public statements.
He added to the destabilization of the club, he questioned Arsenal. The Arsenal. The greatest club ever. This win-nothing chocolate legged dutch man actually disagees with our direction. Sorry but what right has he to question us?
RVP – the direction is Victoria Concordia Crescit – Winning through harmony. You are the weakest link. Goodbye
Juve, Man u and Man c are dithering on his purchase price, and this is quite frustrating to RVP.
If they truely want him they sould meet the price or sh’d just buzz off!!
D98 @12.04 Very poetic 🙂
I might steel, with your permission, that last line as a basis for a future post title: ‘RvP: the direction is winning through harmony’!
i hear today that both him and Bendtner refuse to take photos, so guess he still wants to go
I guess if A. Cole can leave an he was born into the club i guess anyone can go
but rest assured if it was me i would not hesitate to stay
TotAl you are most welcome.. i look forward to reading it…. Ronseal Arsenal. we do exactly what it says in the motto 🙂
Looking at Crispen’s comment, the question that comes to mind is: why do posh blokes seem to enjoy being abused by the ones they love so much?
26th his second name might be Dry… he may be a oil baron sent in by city to destabilize us
Im my opinion he was never going to leave he come out with that statement for the good of the club to try and make mr wenger spend some money on decent players to improve the squad to try and challage for trophies. I do belive that if we didn’t buy then he would have left but I now think he will sign and if he does then well done for standing up and making mr wenger no he need to spend to be sucsessfull rather than just being a feeder club to all the big European clubs
@ LB
that is true, i’d expect nothing less! haha
Loggy, do you really think Wenger is that gullible? He will feed van Persie to the fishes.
ye completely agree was angry wen i heard that he wasnt going to sign but i hope he re signs i knw weve signed great players but too have them along rvp will b great having them instead of rvp is a bit of a hammer blow if he leaves we need a class striker immediately as we will only have giroud who may struggle like chamack did his goal scoring record aint great if u look on wikipedia i think podolski will shine and cazorla but we need a prolific striker wich is rvp
Thankfully I didn’t have to delete any of my memories from seasons past. RVP is still the same person, and there’s no need to gloss over all the good in favour of the bad. However, I do not respect him anymore. What he did, isn’t forgivable. He put himself ahead of Arsenal. All he needed to do was say he won’t renew his contract. There was no reason to take pot shots at the club. If he stays now, it’s because he didn’t find himself in as much demand as he thought. (The reports from his camp about him considering a U-turn due to the signings are nothing but a face saving exercise)
As far as I’m concerned, what RVP wants or thinks, is of no consequence. The question is, what do Arsenal do. I think we keep to a price below which we don’t sell. These prices are to be different for different clubs. Higher for domestic clubs. If someone comes in with that, sell and kick him on the way out. If not, let him stay.
What happens if he stays. That depends on his attitude. If he’s motivated, then play him. Even if he wants someone to hire him, he’s going to have to play well till January at least (by which point our new recruits should be more settled in). But if he’s going to be a trouble maker, sit him in the reserves. In either case, take away the armband.
The real poser is, what if he wants to stay and to sign a new contract. I say we offer it. He is a genuinely good player. But offer reduced terms from what was on the table before his statement. If he signs, well and good. If not, well and good too.
How will I feel about it if he stays and keeps banging in the goals? I’d be happy. But there is no way I’d view him as a club legend ever. Even if he breaks Thierry’s goalscoring record, there is no way he should get a statue once he retires. Actions have consequences. He hoped for higher wages. What he definitely gets is reduction in stature at the club. For good.
As an aside. if ManU/City pay him 220k(unlikely) as opposed to the 130 we were offering.. after tax, that’s a difference of 45k. Which is 2.3m a year. Over 4 years, that’s 10million roughly. It seems Satan is the victim of inflation like all of us. Gone are the days when 30 pieces of silver would do the trick. Of course, he spawned football agents himself, so it’s his own fault.
RVP our MVP has to stay with us.
I feel he has been hanging around the wrong people.
People who do not want Arsenal FC to suceed, People whom are filled with hate towards our club, why would RVP want to go to juventus, where there is scandal after scandal every season.
RVP is ours ,there is no money in the world that will change that .
@ shard
very well said
Rasp i agree wit u about our (Arsenal’s) nxt season squad looking better than Man Utd’s. Wenger has gone in for mature, proven signings this time round. And i bet he’s still not done with d transfers. RVP am sure isn’t going. He simply staged a ‘protest’ against the team’s unyielding youth policy ‘demanding’ for some ambitious signings – which surely Wenger is doing. RVP has stood out as a real captain. Trust me, he’s staying. ARSENAL R GOIN TO BE ALMOST UNPLAYABLE NXT SEASON. Mark my word!
I’m on an aeroplane about to take off, but just wanted to say “great stuff LB.”
I so want to share your openness towards Robin and to believe he might stay after all. You’ve almost convinced me.
If we get Mazola (or is it Canola?) and keep Robin and maybe get Sahin too we will have the best squad in the EPL.
Gotta go.
Gonnerbegood,
£25 million will do the trick.
truthfuly i fink van persie is da reason why doxe signing where made..although is commentx where harsh bt i truly believd we were nt ambitious enough cox as a player of a big club like arxenal one would expect trouphiex in his cabinet..bt thankx to him we ave attained a more significance of a trophy wining side.bt i wnt
b happy if he leavex ,and also undaperforming player should b sold to create rum 4 mre playerx to cum in,playerx like fabianski,squillaci,chamark,bendtner,park,.nd get playerx like julior ceasar,illorente,raul albiol,nd taylor of swansea.i believe dat if playerx like dix re in our squad we wil b invisible once again..van persie wil sign cox this is wat he wants d manager to do..Arsenal 4 life
mc gixy,
I hope you mean invincible not invisible Lol.
Norfolk – I didn’t get that far 🙂
All those crying British athletes are making me cry too, it is so emotional!! I am not sure why but I am proud as a punch 🙂
evonne,
I know just how you feel, I felt that way on a certain Monday night at W***e H**t L**e 1n 1971.
Gotta go now, the grandchildren are about to arrive, I must put on my Grumpy Grandad persona.
He posted a link to that article on his twitter. We all know that he personally uses his twitter. With that said, asking the question weather Arsenal want to have him for 5 more years because of wages you should look at some of the players Arsenal are paying wages to and by wages I don’t mean 30K a year. Start by looking at Diaby and Squillaci if you will…
What really worries me about RvP’s staying is the fact that he did not play a full season unitl the time he wanted to impress potential new employers. Like I said before, I feel that last seson, admitedly his best, wasn’t for us, for the Club. It was for Mr van Persie’s new contract elsewhere.
What is he going to be like if he stays? Not fit to play, on the bench and giving only 50% ? That’s all we got out of him for 7 years. Until this summer I had to reason to doubt his integrity, but that has changed because of that twit
Nice write up bro, exactly what I was thinking. RVP will be good addition to the current crop of players, with this current team arsenal can make history and achieve anything they want to achieve
LB, great post. in my boredom, i have been watching past matches. it’s an odd feeling when i watch VP score. first i smile, but immediately feel sadness because of the current situation. and i think back to how i felt when i was watching it for the first time as it happened. i think, How did it all come to this? just the reality of the world.
Also, Rasp, you made an excellent point that i wondered about during the time of the euros, when Arsene was making statements, while VP was told to keep quiet, and complied. At the time, i thought it might antagonize VP. and i think it really did, maybe causing his statement to be so negative. ( remember,Arsene was publicly predicting VP would choose to stay- and, IF- vP had told the club he was off, it would have been infuriating to the player ) i think the statement was definitely written by VP himself, with help from his advisors.
@johnnie: Have to disagree, van Persie wasn’t told to keep quiet, he, his agents and the club agreed that neither the club nor they would talk publicly about the contract negotiations until they agreed there was something to say (that’s in the public domain). None of Wenger, Gazidis or Hill-Wood breached that agreement, they just said they wanted van Persie to stay. Van Persie on the other hand chose to disregard his agreement, and if you have a look at the text of his statement, he pretty much admits that he was doing that, since he justifies talking publicly despite the agreement, not on account of anything anyone at the club said, but “because there is so much speculation in the media, I think it is fair for you guys to know what’s really going on at the moment.” Yeah right, that’s the reason – after all, there had been no speculation in the months before, had there?
Van Persie had had a crap Euros, and was looking at a less than intense chase for him from Juve and City. To my mind, he and his agents were worried about the direction things were going and the statement was nothing more than a calculated move to push for the move by publicly attacking the club, the manager and, by inference, his colleagues. This was a way of weakening Arsenal’s bargaining position and forcing through a move, if necessary at below market value. A true act of disloyalty.
If he changes his mind (which I don’t think he will), I’d be pleased because he’s a very talented player, but I’d hope he’d be man enough to acknowledge publicly that his actions were out of order and that it would be inappropriate to retain the armband.
Well said 26. The mans a rotter, a scoundral, cad, a villian of the highest order. You only have to look at his face to see that. Imagine Van pursie with a moustache, he would like like Dick Dastardly.
He epotomises everything bad in the modern player. Egotisim, greed, selfishness and disloyalty and worst of all his statement that he was coming out publicly because he wanted the fans to know what was going on, shows what an utter cowardly deluded wanker he is.
Yes, chas has it right about this tosser, Brave Sir Robin indeed.
Hey 26, im trying to remember correctly, but didnt Arsene say something like, i would bet that van Persie stays.. i just looked up the quote. he basically said VP would stay, and put down the serie A as a league also.the quote ” he will stay at Arsenal” was in there. Now, if i was van persie, and heard that, after telling the club i plan to leave.. i would think its manipulation through the media. and also setting me up for even more hatred from the gunner fans. i would be upset because i kept my end up by keeping quiet through the euros. on and off the pitch 🙂 —- but i really dont justify VP’s statement more than that…it bothers the hell out of me that he would try to force us to accept a minimal fee after everything the club did for him, that made him the valuable player he now is.
but really, it doesnt matter now, just want to move forward, take care of transfer business and get the season started soon..cant wait !
Wow, some of you guy’s are really bitter. Give the man a break, all he is doing is negotiating his future – when compared to some other twits he has hardly said a word in anger about Arsenal..
Personally I wish him the best of good fortune, and who knows he may be knocking goals in for AFC next season.
Hi 26
Have enjoyed reading your comments today and agree with the majority that you say directly above especially this: “the statement was nothing more than a calculated move to push for the move.”
The problem I have is that there is still something inside me that wonders why he felt the need to do this. We should remember, and I am sure you do, that Arsenal are very tough negotiators and the idea that they put an offer to him that he couldn’t turn down doesn’t ring true to me at all. Far more likely they made a basic offer of a one year extension with a pay rise.
With this being the most likely scenario I must admit that a tad of simpathy for RvP remains as a low offer would have forced him to make public that he is serious about leaving and sadly the best way of doing that is to set your bridges on fire, he hasn’t burnt them completely but the flames are getting bigger..
Here is RVP`s statement.
………………………………………………………………………….
8:45AM BST 05 Jul 2012
“This is an update for the fans about my current situation. I have kept quiet all this time out of respect and loyalty for the club and as agreed with Mr. Gazidis and Mr. Wenger, but since there is so much speculation in the media, I think it is fair for you guys to know what’s really going on at the moment.
“As announced earlier this year I had a meeting with the Boss and Mr. Gazidis after the season. This was a meeting about the club’s future strategy and their policy. Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.
“I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days.
“Out of my huge respect for Mr. Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.
“I’ve thought long and hard about it, but I have decided not to extend my contract. You guys, the fans, have of course the right to disagree with my view and decision and I will always respect your opinions.
“I love the club and the fans, no matter what happens. I have grown up and became a man during my time with Arsenal FC. Everybody at the club and the fans have always supported me over the years and I have always given my all (and more) on and off the pitch.
“I am very proud of being part of this fantastic club for the last 8 years. As soon as Mr. Gazidis is back from his 2-week holiday in America further meetings will follow and I will update you if and when there are more developments.”
Robin van Persie
Blimey, I thought it was us girlies that held the grudges, some of you are going to need help in dealing with your antivanpersiitis 😉
Ooooh LB – do you think they really only offered him a year?????? That would be a bit poor, he is our captain afterall, I would hope they’d offer him at least two years and possibly even three.
Do you think he told them he wanted to leave before or after he saw what was on the table?
Gn5 – I’m going to tidy up your comment if that’s ok with you.
Actually, the wording in his statement makes it look like they didn’t even discuss the terms of an extension at the meeting.
I don’t deny it, I can be a right bitter bastard when I feel let down by someone – I put it down to my Scottish roots! 🙂
Anyway, the sun’s out, Team GB are doing stonkingly well, England are doing well against the Saffers in the cricket and there’s a cold beer with my name on it – so what have I really got to whinge about??
Thank you,
And by the way, great follow up comment from LB at 7.23pm.
I’m now becoming positively zen-like….
26may – Thank goodness for other sport that’s what I say 😀
Korea 1 GBR 0
Great post, LB.
I must admit I thought he would automatically re-sign to Arsenal for a number of reasons:
Firstly, I genuinely thought he loved the club and being its captain.
I also thought he would have seen the turmoil Fabregas and Na$ri caused last summer with their displays of disloyalty and would refuse to harm us in a similar way.
I believed he would want to repay the faith Wenger has shown in him throughout his bad boy period.
I also believed he would think he owes us for his years of being paid to sit on a treatment table.
Does one outstanding injury-free season, top goalscorer in the prem, player of the year etc suddenly mean he feels it’s ok to ditch everything that’s put him where he is today?
Last but not least, I am “naïve to the point of being childish”. 🙂
Having said all that, I’ll still support him to the hilt if he stays and I won’t need any therapy to do so.
(Though there’ll still be a little part of me that will always regard him as Brave Sir Robin though 🙂 )
Our Aaron just scored from the spot 1-1
GBR get a 2nd penalty and this time Ramsey misses.
Two pens from Aaron Ramsey in four minutes. Both poor, one squeaked under the keeper, the other saved.
Chas you seem to have a great outlook on Arsenal and life for that matter.
Cheers, LB.
I find it extremely hard to believe he would only be offered a one year extension and also that the direction of the club was the only topic of his conversation at his meeting with Wenger and Gazidis.
Apologies for my poor English.
Evening all, we really should have put a poll in this onme as opinion seems evenly divided. I’m a great believer in keeping options open and allowing the other party a way to change their mind without losing face if it is in the common good.
From what I’ve head of the Vieira situation, after wanting to leave for a couple of seasons, the club sold him when he wasn’t pushing for a move.
What worries me is that we seem powerless to stop players gettinb into the last 2 years of their contracts and thereby gaining the upper hand in negotiations. It is about to happen with Song, although we do seem to have emerging players that may negate his bargaining power.
Chas
I don’t believe the direction of the club was ever mentioned. In my view there is as much truth in this as him saying that he wants to leave to win trophies.
Ok so a one year extention sounds a bit mean, then what do you think it was, if any?
Peaches makes a good point in that his statement looks like no offer was made at all in which case the club were playing for time to get to a postion that it would be too late for him to find a club forcing him to take what ever offer they put forward. If this is what he felt was happening then that would have forced him to make that statement on “his” web-site.
Arsenal are no angels in this, they are tough cookies when it comes to contract negotiations.
Arsenal “are tough cookies when it comes to contract negotiations.” – really? I am glad to hear that. For some reason I thought they give in too easily to players’ demands
JESS, JESS, JEEEEEESSSSS – come on JESS !!! I’ve been following her for several years now and cannot wait her with Gold
Did you see that?????????????? OMG, WHAT A GIRL
Evening all,
Quite surprised to see some still believing RvP could stay. I’d say there is less than 5% chance of that.
Evonne, a truly brilliant performance by a very fine human being.
That is very polite TA; you could have described it as naive to the point of being childish. Lol
LB,
I suppose we’re all only guessing.
My guess would be 3 years from now. He would be 29 this season, 30 next and 31 in the third. His body now seems to have matured and his technical ability would make up for any diminishing of pace.
I just had a quick look to see if I could find any confirmation of the £130k plus signing on fee of £5m offer which has been bandied about.
This one suggests 3 years but presumably they were guessing as we are.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2180583/Robin-van-Persie-wants-match-Wayne-Rooneys-wages.html
Yep that is a typical LB – right between the eyes – one liner! 🙂
Any one who does the dirty on Arsenal is a twat. Van Persie might be a lovely bloke if you met him, but whats my relationship with him? On a personal level its zero, the only link is Arsenal Football Club and he is doing the dirty on the club, so for me he is a rotter of the highest order.
It’ll be funny if Brave Sir Robin plays in Cologne.
GM will love it. 🙂
LB, where’s you double dot over the letter ‘i’ in ‘naïve’?
Zapping the chavs away video, hahaha.
“Uckin wanker, uckin wanker, it’s allover”
“Stay on him, you front bottom”
You tell him Chas! 🙂
Thats the spirit terry!
@ evonne
I also worry about that.was he playing for us or his potential buyers.motivation is an amazing thing,just look at flamini in his last season and nasri in his 6month spell.my worry is he does a fabregas and is always ‘injured’ that way when he moves hes had plenty of rest and hast risked becoming injured.
Thanks for a very enjoyable post, LB. What is your take on Wenger’s “caramello” bet, which happened before RvP’s infamous statement, please? What did Wenger want to achieve with this comment?
As reported in ESPN:
[quote]
“He will stay at Arsenal,” Wenger told Italian newspaper La Repubblica. “There is no reason why a top player, a big champion would want a move to Serie A – in terms of the prestige of the league, the level of play or financial considerations.”
Emphasising his confidence, Wenger added: “If he moves there, I will buy you a caramello [Italian ice cream].”
[quote]
Saying this to discourage RvP from leaving seems too obvious. There is probably more to this? Would appreciate your insights.
Oz, I think RvP situation is different from Fabregas. Supposedly RvP is looking for a buyer, which means he has to make himself attractive by continuing to perform. Fabregas had a buyer already; he was just forcing Arsenal to sell.
Here is just a thought that bothers me.
Rasp said this morning that he felt RvPs statement was borne out of frustration with the board saying to the press he wasn’t going anywhere and would be here next season.
Well here’s my problem with this.
All the club and RvP agreed was not to disclose to the press that no contract extension had been signed. In case RvP had forgotten he still has a year to run on his existing contract, so the club said nothing wrong in my eyes. They said he was not going anywhere they didn’t say he was signing or had signed or wasn’t signing.
So can someone explain to me when having a contract with a year to run meant you had to be sold? Be brave Robin and put in a transfer request and lose that loyalty bonus, or see out your contract, all you chose to do was not sign a contract. Don’t throw your toys out of the pram because the club decided to make you see out a contract that YOU signed!
GiE, I’m guessing frustration made you asked “So can someone explain to me when having a contract with a year to run meant you had to be sold?” Otherwise you know well the Bosman rule creates this situation for both player and club.
Should RvP submit a request when he can sit out one year and move after? Should Arsenal sell him one year early or keep him and let him go for free? All these calculations become necessary with Bosman.
p.s. Writing this makes me reconsider my comment to Oz. What if RvP gets some sort of guarantee from Juve (for example) that they will come for him in a year’s time? In that case, he probably would do a Fabregas 😦
I come down firmly on the opposite side of dividing line that RvP crossed! From the position of a once great player of ours he’s now damaged goods, and if selling him at the sort of price we are asking helps us balance our books then he’ll have done us one last service. He’s no longer captain material because the statement he made damaged the club. There is no taking back what he did! I don’t care if he didn’t type it, I don’t care who’s idea it was. The only way RvP could ever have continued after that statement was an immediate retraction swiftly followed by the firing his agent. Its gone on way too long for that. I’m positively “Sicilian” in my outlook. if RvP wants to resign now “fine” but I don;t thinks he’s now worth what we offered our much loved captain. He’s now hated by a large amount of Gooners (Myself included) and he’s got himself the tag of being traitorous. His own actions have devalued him.
He’s no longer a much loved captain. He’s now a 30 year old injury prone liability who’s no longer trusted to “do the right thing” when left in your house unsupervised, especially if you’ve got internet. Therefore offer him the contract that we “The Arse” think he merits, moreover if he now signs for us use him. As he’s such a “pro” play him and let him continue to score while our new boys bed themselves in. Armed with a new contract inflate his price and out him in January, that way he’d seriously be useful to us when it comes to balancing our books. I’d release a statement when he left too! Thanking him for his services to the club, but I’d list our reasons for selling him as “RvP no longer represents the type of player that matches the ambitions of Arsenal Football Club”. Revenge they say is a dish best sever cold!
The warmth I once felt for RvP has turned as cold as as any stone!
TT yes the Bosman means he goes on a free, but that is in favour of the player not the club. And I guess that’s kind of my point, RvP and his agent assumed that if he didn’t sign we would sell him (because of Bosman)….but we don’t have to and quotes from both Wenger and PHW suggested otherwise, and therefore his statement was designed to give the club nowhere to go and for him to be sold to any bidder (as his statement reduced his price).
The only thing not signing did was leave RvP a year to run on his current deal with no improvement in wages/terms. If he wants to be sold he has to put in a transfer request and as far as we all can gather he hasn’t, so if we sell him we have to pay out his loyalty clause because it wasn’t his decision to be sold. Which in turn means we look for a higher price to fund the payout.
But we don’t have to sell, we can choose to sell or let him leave on a free in a year. It’s not much of a choice given the way we are self financing but on the other hand we need to make a stand sooner or later.
For those of us who like the dark arts of transfer trading tap on the link below and try to read between the lines (You hardly need to be Steven Fry to figure it out) its a blatant attempt to inflate the price of a young player by a manager who knows the player isn’t going to want to stay at his club. Especially not when he could come to us
http://arsenalbanter.com/arsenal-are-determined-to-land-niang/2939
Spot on GIE
Both the “none re-sign” and the “statement” were flip sides of the same coin. RvP thought it was a “given” that because of Bosman the club would have to sell him. Exactly like we “had to” with his best mate Na$ri. You know where I stand from my vindictive views above. 🙂
A Gold Medal winning Arsenal supporter.
……………………………………………………………………….
He grew up in Hanworth, west London.
Farah’s story from the poverty-stricken streets of Somalia to top flight athletics is one that serves as an inspiration, both in Britain and his place of birth.
His charity – the Mo Farah Foundation – is helping to provide life-saving aid to some of the millions of people facing starvation and disease in East Africa.
Strong home support is key.
Farah currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and daughter.
He is coached by Alberto Salazar and runs for the Nike Oregon Project.
Aside from athletics, Farah’s other sporting passion is Arsenal football club.
He has been an Arsenal fan from a young age – even though his father was a massive Manchester United fan.
Farah notes: ‘I’m not as quick as Theo Walcott but I’ve got endurance.’
As with most British athletes competing in a home Games is something special.
He said ahead of London 2012: ‘I always wanted to be Olympic and World champion so having the Games in London is a massive bonus.
‘If it comes down to the last 100m and people are shouting your name, it’s going to give you that extra boost
I’m reprinting this Mirror Football article from the 2-8-12 because I think it does a reasonable job of summing up the RvP situation. The same paper says we are showing interest in Gregory Van Der Wiel which if true means Arsene is worried that Sagna’s absence can’t be adequately covered by Jenkingson.
Robin van Persie is in danger of running out of options – and if Arsenal can complete a deal for Santi Cazorla, he may end up feeling rather like a spurned lover. Van Persie has three clubs in for him: Juventus, Manchester City and Manchester United. Juventus are desperate to sign him, have made an offer which has been rejected by Arsenal and are willing to give him a five year deal worth £190,000-a-week AFTER tax. But with the Italian champions facing the prospect of having their manager, Antonio Conte, banned for being caught up in the country’s match fixing scandal, he’s getting cold feet about a move there. Juventus made a low opening bid which was duly rejected. They’ve been back in touch since but are still nowhere near Arsenal’s valuation. Manchester United seem confident behind the scenes but there is a feeling that they will not increase their bid despite having had an offer of just under £15m knocked back. United are acutely aware that van Persie is 29 this month, has a poor injury record and his resale value will be next to nothing. That does not fit in with the club’s transfer philosophy. Maybe United feel that Arsenal will be forced to lower their price as August drags on as they would rather sell for less than £20m rather than losing van Persie for nothing next summer when his contract expires. It is also believed that van Persie does not fancy Manchester City – even though they have submitted a bid for him. City are well aware of van Persie’s reservations which is why they are eyeing up alternatives like Gonzalo Higuain.
But City must also sell before they can buy. The club’s hierarchy want to offload three strikers from Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz and Edin Dzeko before signing another stellar name. It leaves van Persie in a dilemma. After originally fancying Juventus, the prospect of losing the manager who led them to the title is hardly good news. All signs now point towards Old Trafford, but United are a long way from a deal with Arsenal. But it would be unthinkable for Arsenal not to sell him this summer. While Wenger wanting to take a stand is very admirable and wanting to keep van Persie is perfectly understandable, they simply must sell him. Anything else would be inexplicable under the current regime. But that leaves van Persie – having already said he will not sign a new contract – in a real pickle. Should he go to City against his better judgement? Hope United come back in – even though that would be out of character for the club? Or go to Juventus, a club in the middle of a storm? Juventus were always going to have to try hard to tempt him to Italy. It’s become even harder now. There appears to be no way back at Arsenal – and the fans may not accept him.
The club are already planning for life without him. Lukas Podolski is still TBC on the squad number list but is surely about to take van Persie’s ’10’ shirt. Arsenal have also bought in Olivier Giroud. Podolski can play left, behind or through the middle and Giroud is a strong target man. Wenger will have other options too as Theo Walcott will be on the right, Gervinho is in the mix and Andre Santos has been playing wide left in pre-season. Then there’s Malaga’s Santi Cazorla. At 27 he is a top talent, has 45 caps for world and European champions Spain, and is regarded as being a technical player along the lines of Cesc Fabregas. Cazorla will be offered a four year deal and is seen as being crucial playmaker in the number ten role for next season’s new look team. Arsenal remain hopeful of signing Cazorla but it will not be an easy one. Malaga are in financial meltdown, contracts are proving difficult and it is causing stress.
It strikes me that if Arsenal do get their man then any move for Real Madrid starlet Nuri Sahin will be put on the back burner. They may sign both but, after pulling out of so many deals last summer, it would not be Wenger’s style. Arsenal have been talking to Alex Song about a new contract. He has three years to run and there has been interest from Barcelona. If things develop on that front, then maybe Sahin will provide a clue. But Arsenal are rebuilding, planning for life without van Persie – even before he has gone. The Dutchman has just had the season of his life, scored world class goals and yet finds himself out in the cold. What a bizarre scenario and summer this is proving to be. Or just the usual summer of transfer madness in Arsenal’s case.
GN5
Great night for British Athletic’s 3 gold medals and two of them are Gooners! Mo’s win was great, he visits the Emirates regularly I won’t be surprised if he stays in London for the first game of the season at Emirates. He was photographed there just before the games started. Then there’s life long Gooner Greg Rutherford who won the long jump he’s got Gooner blood, his Grand Father holds an Arsenal record Jack Rutherford was our oldest ever player at 41. In 1926 he played against Man City. Unfortunately Jessica Ennis being a local girl supports Sheffield United or we’d have made a clean sweep (Women eh there’s no accounting for taste) 🙂 There are a lot of Athletes who support the Arse “Peri Shakes Drayton for example who runs tomorrow in the 400m and a Kid named Williamson who might run in the 4×100 relay. There’s loads of others too like Kenyan 800m runner Rudisha who was pictured at the club recently.
Arinse Uade (arsenal youth player) wrote this on twitter :
Arinse Prince Uade@Arinse_Uade
Good to see Santi Carzola at the training ground today #afc
Not long after it was taken off haha. He is one of the new first year scholars. Poor kid has probably been strangled by Arsene in the locker rooms after that one haha
Did Mo Farah really say this?
If he did, he doesn’t sound like much of an Arsenal supporter to me.
http://bit.ly/NtNgbs
Chas – I didn’t know Mo was a Gunner, now I stil don’t know if he is. Unless he has his own agenda, ie like moving to US? He trained there before the Olympics
Mo is definitely a Gooner, he has trained with the players before so maybe counts RvP as his friend and has split loyalties.
I heard Matt Lucas talk about Theo, they are also good friends, and he was similarly supportive of the choices Theo may make. It’s a difficult position I guess.
But for me:
Da da da da Mo’s a Gooner
da da da da Mo’s a Gooner
(to the Sol tune).
I wish Jess was a Gunner 🙂
UNLESS the Club REALLY doesn’t know yet about the future of van Persie, I think it is cruel to put through yet another summer of waiting and worrying. It was bad enough last year, but to do it to us again seems wrong.
Morning all,
and thanks LB for putting a different slant on the RVP saga.
Football is ” a funny old game” and I wonder what would have happened if RVP had been injured last season which wouldn’t have been a surprise.
He wasn’t and on the whole had a fantastic season and was mainly responsible for us achieving third.
I have looked at the situation all ways and have come to the conclusion that is better for all concerned if he now left and my hunch is that it will be to Italy.
I was a little perturbed to hear that our two new signings will have to be gently intoduced into the team ( a quote from Wenger) and I still don’t understand even allowing for the commercial aspect that we went to Asia with only one recognised striker in chamakh.
Less than two weeks to go and the rumour mill and speculation keeps increasing as we are being linked with more and players.
Theo’s situation should have been sorted out by now.
Our Pole in Goal WIL be a great keeper but is still prone to making bad calls and we need a back up more experienced keeper,but I haven’t heard of anyone mentioned as Fabianski is definitely not the answer, and I understand he wants first team football.
Then there is Arshavin. What is actually going on with him ?
Jenkinson was involved in the mauling at OT and it is expecting too much for him to step into Sagna’s shoes, he needs time, and I don’t buy that others in the squad who are not right backs can cover.
How long will Wilshere be out, i stated we wouldn’t see him until the end of the year,which will mean 18 months out and can he recover,a doubt must exist.
I say all this as we are not a mid table club but one who could challenge with a bit of luck.
The Glazers have shown their true colours and they are not the first American owners who are only in it for personal gain (Gillett and Hicks) and I think regardless of what happens this season Kroenke will remain Silent Stan. I am not advocating usmanov as a better choice but I hold my belief that the Board , Wenger and some players are all pulling in different directions.
IMO, time for a reality check, and all transfers be they buys or loans should be concluded before the season starts.
Morning Kelsey good to see you on here. I am not concerned either way about RvP, I guess that’s why I do not feel like the club is putting me through the wringer as Evonne does. If he is still here …. the more the merrier…if he goes…. well we will survive.
A number of players didn’t travel to Asia due to the late return from the Euros, I think we were hardly into pre season when we went and it appears judging by pics on the web that we are really putting the fitness miles in now.
Cologne will give us an indication of where we are and it appears RvP may have to travel with us. With Afobe off on loan I guess we are keeping at least one of Cham, NikB and RvP to keep us covered up top. I’m trying to work out where we are on the 25 man squad (over 21).
I believe the US owners of United are not listing for personal gain but to reduce the debt and interest burden, they need United to be successful on pitch to gain from an eventual sale, the interest has meant they are struggling to do that. Stan has structured his purchase of Arsenal much differently.
Hi GIE,
I have been out of the loop for a while and that makes sense about the players not going to Asia, yet Chamakh was actually dropped by morocco so if he had played we wouldn’t have had one first team striker.
i have read the Gllazers intent and I do belive they are trying to achieve a balance but also to get beneficial gain.
I must admit I’m not sure why some travelled and others didn’t, Theo, Ox went, BFG, Pod, Giroud, and Kozzer didn’t. Altho Oxhad said that he was asking the boss if he could come in early and I would guess Theo has a more natural fitness without working too hard. (and it doesn’t hurt that he is the big thing amongst our Asian groupies 🙂 )
I don’t doubt that there is a personal gain for the Glazers, but the only gain presently is that their net assets are improved in the holding company.
One big difference between them and Kroenke is that the Glazers set up a new company which only has one business (holding shares in ManUtd) whereas we were bought by a company already in existence and already holding other sports teams.
I said at the time of the acquisition that there was possible revenue from associated business, KSE owns a ticket selling operation, last season AFC paid Ticketmaster a share of revenues for handling that operation, I have not yet bought tickets to see of that still applies.
Morning all
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@Kelsey@8:21 Thats wishfull thinking about all transfers and loans should be concluded before the transfer window opens/starts. Many clubs won’t talk transfers until the window opens, so if you want to buy one of their players what would you do? Not all clubs opperate in the way you might want them to.
Chas & GIE Re Mo the Gooner. That appeared in the star so there have to be question marks around whether Mo’s answers were spun? I can imagine a journo asking a loaded question, like as you had to move away to improve do you understand others feeling the need to move away to win things? And when he replied “yes” the journo leaves the next question hanging “I can see that applying to the RvP situation can’t you”? Athletes rarely practise guarding what they say in the same way that politicians do, so its relatively easy to entrap them. Managers are far more guarded which is why they are often so non commital. Mo’s an honest guy, so for a practised journo it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.