da luck：
da leao： This week is expected to see Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie hold talks regarding his future with manager Arsene Wenger and chairman Ivan Gazidis. However, with doubts being cast over whether he will stay with The Gunners into the 2012/13 season, should Arsenal follow in the footsteps of their North London rivals?
Last summer Luka Modric was the talk of much speculation, and subject to a £22 million bid from Chelsea. Throughout the speculation, Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy demanded the Croatian playmaker stay with the club, and rejected the bid from Chelsea, who went onto sign Valencia’s Juan Mata.
Such assertiveness from Ivan Gazidis at Arsenal would no doubt be refreshing for the fans, who last year saw two key players in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri sold to Barcelona and Manchester City for big money moves.
The seventh consecutive season without a trophy was enough cause for frustration for many Arsenal fans at the end of this season, but losing their stand out performer and captain would be a huge cause for concern going into the start of a new season in August.
Van Persie still has a year left on his contract at the Emirates and is subject to speculation surrounding a big money transfer to either Barcelona or Manchester City. Should Gazidis insist the Dutchman stay and see of the last year of his contract, there is potential that as he then approaches 30, he would be a less attractive proposition to the top clubs.
Arsenal should see the importance of keeping Van Persie. Not only because of the value he has proved himself worth the club, but also because of what keeping hold of him would signify. In recent years, the sales of Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas and Ashley Cole to name a few, have arguably seen Arsenal become nothing less than a selling club, feeding their rivals key players. Keeping the Dutchman would show that Arsenal are determined to keep their best players, not give into their rivals big money offers and concentrate on progressing forward to win a trophy.
Let’s also not write off what making Van Persie stay the extra year could do for them on the pitch. Should he further the fantastic league form he has shown already in the previous season, he could be another key contributor. The potential partnership with new signing Lukas Podolski is something many Arsenal fans will relish and could be the key to show that Arsenal really are a top club and can win them their first trophy in seven years.
Whilst these are all reasons why Van Persie is key to Arsenal and they should play hardball in trying to keep him, there are other motives as to why Gazidis and co could benefit from selling the prolific Dutchman. If, and it’s a big if, they do slam the door on his exit demanding he stay, in a year’s time he would be available on a free transfer. Arsenal still have a huge stadium debt to pay off, and by getting £30 million now this would no doubt help. Not to mention that they would still have three months in which the transfer window is open to find a notable replacement, and will not be particularly limited financially.
Of course, if Robin Van Persie wants to leave, then there are benefits to letting him go. Not only will the big fee help, but as we saw with Cesc Fabregas’ final year at the club prior to his departure to Barcelona, keeping a player whose mind is elsewhere will not be a step forward. As the banner on the north bank at The Emirates reads; ‘Who needs batman? We’ve got Robin’ – well keeping holding of Robin to ensure they still don’t need a super hero to save them should be a priority for The Gunners.
Should Arsenal follow Tottenham’s footsteps and play hardball to keep Van Persie? Let me know what you think: @ultimate_dav
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