Joe Mardon
As the Arsenal forward collected his Player of the Year accolade from fellow professionals, the immediate future concentrates on securing Champions League football for the Gunners next season. In the back of his mind, he'll already be weighing up whether he'll still be an Arsenal player come that time.
It comes as no surprise that Manchester City are sniffing around. They'll shag anything in a short skirt. It leaves a sour taste to learn that Patrick Vieira is once more the focal point of their flirtation with one of our stars, as our former captain was seen in deep conversation with our current one at the NextGen series at Leyton Orient in March.
The Arsenal link between the two makes such conversations as inevitable as they are unwanted. Of course, Vieira and van Persie would talk to each other if they happened to be attending the same event. Of course, Paddy would have told Robin just how many zeros City would put on his pay cheque. Van Persie is entitled to listen to such an offer, and it will not be the only one.
We'll get to whether the Dutchman stays at the club in a moment. For now, let me just say that if Robin does decide the grass is greener elsewhere, I trust him to know it’s greener still away from City (in footballing terms, if not money).
Van Persie is better than Manchester City. He's Barcelona or Real Madrid. He knows that. He also knows that, amongst the previous sales between Emirates and Eastlands, of Clichy, Adebayor, Touré and Nasri lies not one world-class player.
What happens with regards to Robin van Persie this summer is a vital indication as to the direction in which Stan is steering Arsenal Football Club. Selling Robin to any of the clubs mentioned above, a year on from losing Fabgreas and Nasri, would be devastating. Even if we were to reinvest the fee that such a loss would provide, what's the point in doing so if the next wave of players also bloom at Arsenal before being picked off?
A stand has to be made.
After years of injury-plagued seasons, we ought to expect more than just one fine year from van Persie, just as he will now expect to be paid in line with the status he holds. We have to meet those demands, and then some. Paying him won’t be enough. We have to show a real intent in the transfer market to assure Robin that staying with Arsenal means he has a chance of adding team silverware to the individual award he received on Sunday night.
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