Manchester City are ready to bid £20 million for Robin van Persie after the
Arsenal captain issued an extraordinary statement in which he outlined his
desire to leave and openly questioned the club’s direction under Arsène
Wenger.
Arsenal reacted
on Wednesday night by saying that they were “confident” that Van Persie
would see out a contract which does not expire until next summer but,
privately, are furious that their star player should go public with such a
provocative statement.
They were given no prior warning that Van Persie was planning to speak out,
with Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis especially seething over the
conduct of Kees Vos, the Dutchman’s agent.
Arsenal are well aware that Vos was a guest at the Etihad last season of Brian
Marwood, the Manchester
City director of football administration, and they believe that Van
Persie is being badly advised.
Telegraph Sport revealed in May that Van Persie was not willing to
extend his contract and, late on Wednesday afternoon, he confirmed on his
website that he would definitely not sign a new deal.
He then went on to say that, during a meeting with Wenger and Gazidis, it had
“become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC
should move forward”.
Van Persie’s statement is being interpreted as a blatant attempt to force a
move this summer and, while Arsenal have received no bids or inquiries, the
clear suspicion is that he is now actively trying to generate an auction
among Europe’s leading clubs.
The desire of Manchester City and Juventus to sign Van Persie is no secret
but, according to sources, Manchester United are also now interested.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea will also consider their position.
City want to find buyers for some of their existing strikers, including
Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, before finalising a deal for Van
Persie. As with Samir Nasri last summer, United’s problem would be to match
both the wages and transfer fee that City can offer. They have also not paid
a transfer fee for a player over the age of 28 since Dimitar Berbatov four
years ago.
Wenger now faces the nightmare of a repeat of last summer’s saga when his
captain, then Cesc Fàbregas, was also desperate to leave. Fàbregas was
eventually granted his move to Barcelona and Wenger must now weigh up the
advantages of a quick sale and no prolonged uncertainty or acrimony against
the damage to his team from losing Van Persie.
Only this week, he referred to Arsenal’s dependency on Van Persie and said
that he wanted to keep the Dutchman at “all costs”.
One advantage this summer is that Wenger has already recruited two potential
replacements in Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud. Both, however, are
unproven in the Premier League and are likely to need a season to fully
adapt.
Wenger’s initial reaction on Wednesday night was that the club should hold Van
Persie to his contract unless there is an extraordinary offer.
He also sanctioned a statement from Arsenal that suggested they would still
try to persuade him to stay for another season. “We have to respect Robin’s
decision not to renew his contract,” said the club statement.
“Robin has one year to run on his current contract and we are confident that
he will fulfil his commitments to the club.”
The situation will come to a head in 10 days’ time, if not sooner, with Van
Persie expected back for pre-season training on July 16 and then due to
travel with Arsenal to Malaysia for the start of their summer tour on July
21.
Van Persie, though, said that the decision not to extend his contract was
based on sporting and not financial considerations.
“As announced earlier this year I had a meeting with the Boss [Wenger] and Mr
Gazidis after the season,” said Van Persie. “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. As soon as Mr Gazidis is back from his two-week holiday
in America further meetings will follow.”
Arsenal on Wednesday night denied, however, that Gazidis was on a two-week
holiday.
Just a feeder club: Gunners who have moved to City
Arsène Wenger warned last April Arsenal must stop acting as a feeder club to
Manchester City, who have made a habit of recruiting former Gunners:
Emmanuel Adebayor, joined July 2009
Signed for £25million. Scored against Arsenal in one of his first City
games and enraged Arsenal fans by running the length of the pitch to
celebrate.
Kolo Toure, July 2009
City paid £16million for the former Arsenal captain, who left the Emirates
after a reported bust-up with William Gallas. Used mainly as squad player by
Roberto Mancini.
Sylvinho, Aug 2009
Played for Celta Vigo and Barcelona after leaving Arsenal but at Manchester
City he made just 10 appearances.
Samir Nasri, Aug 2011
Despite Wenger’s best efforts to hang on to the French winger whom he
called “technically outstanding”, Nasri moved to the Etihad for £25million,
although Arsenal fans accused him of moving only for a bigger pay packet.
Patrick Vieira, Jan 2010
Won three league titles with Arsenal and played for Juventus and Inter
Milan before joining City. Is now a key figure in the club’s youth
development set-up.
Gaël Clichy, July 2011
Although he had won the league with Arsenal, left-back Clichy agreed to a
£7 million move because he believed Manchester offered him a greater chance
of silverware. Won his second league title last season.
Guwahati, Jul 20 : The Shillong
Sports Association (SSA) has cleared Shillong Lajong FC player Seikhohao
Tuboi to play for the team, though Malki Sports Club appealed to the
supreme council for further review of his status.
