At around 6.30pm last night, Arsenal fans received the news they were absolutely dreading, that their Dutch hitman Robin Van Persie will not be signing a new deal to stay at the club.
Currently with 12 months left on his contract, the 28-year-old wrote on his website; "I've thought long and hard about it but I have decided not to extend my contract."
Currently with 12 months left on his contract, the 28-year-old wrote on his website; "I've thought long and hard about it but I have decided not to extend my contract."
Later on in the evening, Arsenal replied with a statement, saying; “We have to respect Robin’s decision not to renew his contract. Robin has one year left to run on his current contract and we are confident that he will fulfil his commitments to the club.”
This news has sparked plenty of reaction from within the English football community, so where does this leave Robin Van Persie, where might he go and more importantly, where do Arsenal go from here?
Player loyalty
The days where club and player loyalty going hand in hand, seem to be a thing of the past. There are rare exceptions such as John Terry at Chelsea, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard at Liverpool and Ryan Giggs at Manchester United.
Van Persie has been an Arsenal player since the summer of 2004, so he has given a lot of his career to the Gunners.
Seven years without a trophy is a barren run by any stretch of the imagination but for the supporters at the Emirates, it has become a regular story of expecting so much and delivering so little.
Age could be a factor in Van Persie’s decision too. Last season, he had his best campaign by a considerable distance.
He scored 41 goals in all competitions for Arsenal and Holland and won deservedly both the PFA Players Player of the Year and the Football Writers Awards.
The majority of today’s players crave to win silverware and produce success on a regular basis. This is something that Arsenal has failed to achieve for a number of years now and like Cesc Fabregas last season, a hard decision has had to be made.
The North Londoners did well to finish third last term, considering they experienced an 8-2 mauling at Old Trafford in August and had a horrid week in February where they were dumped out of the Champions League and FA Cup in relatively quick succession.
Nevertheless, they finished a full 19 points behind the two Manchester clubs and that is a gap that will take more than one season to close.
In my view, Arsenal fans should be thanking Van Persie for all the dedication and commitment he has shown to the club and not insult him for his desire to leave. If you don’t win silverware on a regular basis, then star players will leave. It is part and parcel of today’s game.
Next destination
There will be plenty of potential suitors for Van Persie’s services and the favourites have to be defending Premier League champions, Manchester City.
City can offer him a high wage packet, packed with bonuses and the potential to be one of Europe’s prime challengers. Already though, they have Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli all on their striking roster, so they might have to sell one of them before launching into a bid for the Dutchman.
Then, there is Serie A champions Juventus, who have made no secret of their admiration. Juve seem to be on their way back to relive former glories and have already bolstered the squad this week with the signing of Brazilian defender Lucio from Inter Milan on a free transfer.
The Turin side can offer Van Persie a new style of playing football, a new country and definitely a new challenge.
Nevertheless, he might want to take some advice from one of his playing heroes when growing up, Dennis Bergkamp. Dutch players have had mixed fortunes in Serie A in the past and Bergkamp’s two season stint at the San Siro with Inter in the 1990s was disastrous. It could be a risky move.
Russian side Anji have the money and the wealth of managerial experience of Guus Hiddink at the helm but a move here would be a grave error of judgement and would be seen as a money grabbing switch to a club with no history whatsoever.
Barcelona and Real Madrid would also be potential destinations but what Van Persie would have to weigh up if he went here was no guarantee of a first team place in La Liga. Fabregas has often had to sit on the bench at the Nou Camp in his first season back in Spain.
Lastly, he could see out the 12 months on his contract at Arsenal but leave for nothing next season. This is something the fans would love to see but there could be a question of motivation, morale and team chemistry.
Arsene Wenger is a shrewd manager in the transfer market and I think he would have the understanding that it is best to cut the club’s losses and cash in on a player who doesn’t want to have a future in North London.
Where does this leave Arsenal?
Former Arsenal manager George Graham told BBC Sport last night; “It doesn’t bode well for Arsenal for the future because they are trying to build a team and their best players are leaving.
“Even though he has a year on his contract, they are going to have to sell him and get the best price.”
The fact is, Arsenal is now a selling club. Whilst Wenger can still tempt excellent players with huge potential to the Emirates, the world class player would rather choose Manchester, Madrid, Munich or West London as their next club destination.
In recent seasons, they have had to sell Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri because the club couldn’t fulfil the needs of the players.
There has been too much underachievement for many years now at Arsenal, so it is hardly a surprise when their best players want to leave for pastures new.
The manager has brought in Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski in the summer and they still have Nicklas Bendtner and Marouane Chamakh on their books, plus Theo Walcott could potentially play as a second striker.
However Giroud and Podolski would have little chance of forming a partnership that could score the goals Van Persie did last season put together.
Yossi Benayoun, who played for Arsenal last season on loan said on Twitter last night; “Surprise to hear the news about RVP. I think Arsenal should do everything to keep him...great guy and great player!”
I would disagree; it is time for Arsenal to fulfil their commitment as a selling club.
Fans reaction
As mentioned already, the Dutchman’s decision to leave has provoked plenty of reaction from fans, neutrals and journalists alike.
The Daily Mirror’s chief sports writer Oliver Holt fears that Walcott might be heading for the departure lounge.
He said on Twitter; “RVP’s intention to leave poses wider danger for Arsenal. Walcott loves playing alongside him so it will be harder to keep him, too.”
Artwell Mpofu was surprised by his lack of loyalty. He said on Facebook, “Amazing how players are no longer loyal to clubs. Arsenal stood by him when he was always injured. Rest assured he will not be the same as we saw at the Euros.”
Finally, on our own Facebook page, Ryan Walter commented; “If Arsenal buy some good players soon, he might stay for the last year of his current deal!”
The future
Robin Van Persie’s decision to not extend his contract at Arsenal could blow a fairly pedestrian transfer market wide open.
Whilst he wants trophies on a frequent basis, Arsenal can’t give that guarantee to him and many other clubs in the world can offer great potential.
If Wenger manages to somehow convince him to stay past the last 12 months on his current deal, it will go down as one of the Frenchman’s greatest ever acts as Gunners boss.
We’ve seen Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney come back from the brink of leaving their clubs in the past and this could be the start of a prolonged summer of negotiations.
For both parties, a split now seems to be the amicable and commonsense solution.
Unfortunately, this is another example of player power and probably, greedy agent influence on the modern game.
An uncertain future seems to wait for both Robin Van Persie and Arsenal.
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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