Get ready for a different paper to print a different rumour every day for the next six weeks. Brace yourselves.
Any time a player has the kind of season that the Dutchman has just had, there’s going to be interest from the vulture clubs around Europe – but if you add in an expiring contract to that situation, then times that interest by three. Arsenal are vulnerable if Van Persie doesn’t extend his deal, and the player and his agent will know that – if he wants to leave, then it’s going to be very hard to stop him.
But he should stay.
Whenever Arsenal have needed to grind out a result this season, they have turned to their captain and talisman Robin van Persie.
Arsenal is managed by one of the most shrewdest and money-conscious managers in world football, reflected in the club’s lack of transfer activity. Despite the fact that the club is certainly lacking in quality and numbers in some areas of pitch, Arsene Wenger folded his arms and watched the month of January pass by so who would blame if he decided to leave?
1. LOYALTY
When Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri left, it made sense because none of them loved Arsenal that much. Nasri left at the first sign of cash.
Fabregas remained silent and left at a time that damaged Arsenal this season, instead of handing a transfer request early on, giving Arsenal a chance to buy a world-class replacement.
Van Persie however, loved Arsenal, as he stated time and again, and has shown the loyalty and the quality to back his claims.
Should van Persie leave, it means that even those who love Arsenal have stopped believing in it.
During the 2009-2010 season with only one year remaining of his contract, Van Persie was in negotiations with Arsenal about an extension for several months in 2009. Finally, it was announced in July that he had signed a new long-term contract with his club, stating, "My heart is with Arsenal and I just can't picture myself in a different shirt."
Freed from the shackles of injury and blessed with the form of his life, van Persie has sometimes single-handedly won games for his club through sheer determination and awesome skill.
His teammates have turned to their leader to provide the inspiration necessary to break down any resilient Premier League side
As if the Dutchman isn't revered enough around the Emirates Stadium, he might just ascend to a whole new stratus.
Arsenal had leverage over Robin van Persie when he suffered a fractured metatarsal, a knee ligament tear, a recurring thigh problem, ruptured ankle ligaments and a severe ankle sprain.
These are just the notable injuries, what about the nagging ones?
Instead of twisting from what seemed like a logical business decision in selling the Dutchman, they stuck by him.
There is also the fact that when Arsenal bought him no other club wanted to buy him due to Baloteli-like indiscipline on the pitch but trust Wenger to convert crude players to pure class
Now at the present, Van Persie is the best player in the Premier League and he can sink Arsenal's future plans by announcing his intentions to leave.
We all know who the scapegoat will be—Arsène Wenger
2. June 2005
In June 2005, while in Rotterdam with the Dutch national team for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Van Persie was arrested on suspicion of rape by Dutch police. Sandra Krijgsman, a former Miss Nigeria Holland winner, claimed she was attacked by Van Persie in a hotel.He was held for fourteen nights in prison while the police investigated the allegations made against him but was then released without charge, though he was still under suspicion. In February 2006, the case against Van Persie was dismissed by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service after they completed their investigations stating that no sexual contact with coercion happened, with Van Persie's accuser later admitting she had made up the story to gain publicity. Van Persie spoke of his ordeal several months later, saying how degrading the experience was and how he was treated like a criminal despite his innocence. He revealed that conditions in the prison were so hot that they caused him to lose consciousness. It also emerged that over 200 Rotterdam police officers had attempted to view his case files, with the vast majority of them unauthorised to do so.
Again Arsenal stuck by him through the whole drama when other clubs could have bid good riddance to him with the snap of a finger.
3. THE LEGACY
At Arsenal, he’s building himself a legacy. It’s rare for someone to have the kind of sustained purple patch that the Dutchman has this year, nobody at the club will ever forget it. If he decides to hand Arsene Wenger back the armband and head off to Spain next season, then that will be the defining memory of this year.
Certain players thrive on being a focal point within a team – they enjoy being the posterboy of a side and they relish the pressure that comes with it. It doesn’t necessarily follow though, that the same type of player will succeed in a more talented environment. Was Van Persie as prominent when this Arsenal side was stacked with quality? Was he as much of an offensive threat? No – obviously his development as a player is a factor in that, but it’s also a symptom of his mentality. Van Persie would only be a world-class performer at Arsenal.
This is Thierry Henry all over again. The Frenchman was a legend at Arsenal, he was bigger than the club at his peak – but on moving to Barcelona he became just another contributor. Yes, his age was a mitigating factor, but the drop off in his performances were too severe to be accredited solely to the passing of time.
4. SIGNS OF COMMITMENT BY THE CLUB ARE STARTING TO SHOW
Last months signing of Lukas Podolski, a world class player before the end of the season is surely a sign of better things to come. they have also been associated with a number of bi names on the transfer market. What a better way of winning than getting the services of world class players?
5.FAMILY LIFE
Hill-Wood believes that van Persie is content making less money because his family is happily settled in North London: “I think Robin and his family are very happy in London and I don’t think he is solely motivated by money as some players are.”
To suggest that van Persie would prefer to live in the capital rather than Manchester seems plausible, but to posit that the Dutch international is willing to take a 50% pay cut to stay at Arsenal due to some perverse notion of loyalty borders on the absurd.
There is also that fact that Arsenal signed his son to the Arsenal academy, perhaps a desperate attempt to hold on to the player through his son
Any agent worth their salt would advise their client to earn as much money as possible given that the career of a professional athlete is relatively short.
No comments:
Post a Comment