Daniel Jones
I genuinely believed Robin van Persie was one of us. Today (Thursday 16th August) I feel hurt, angry and it’s almost as if my girlfriend has cheated on me. I can’t comprehend how Arseène Wenger must feel.
I thought initially the club was to blame for not taking control of the situation. The board’s lack of honesty is a problem, and has been for some time. Perhaps the club captain was right to question what direction the club was heading in. I felt Robin was asking the question all of the fans were desperate to ask. Whilst Robin’s personal statement was unprofessional, I thought he was just frustrated with the stubborn philosophy of the board. Yes, I bought it.
Since Robin’s move to Man United, it's become apparent that the move was all about money. Why Man United? Arsenal with van Persie is as good as Man United without van Persie. There's no guarantee he will win trophies at Man United, and after eight years at Arsenal, he’s thrown it all back in our faces. Wenger had faith in him, Arsenal stuck by him through injury and he was loved at Arsenal. His dream was to be compared to his idol, Dennis Bergkamp. Well, please allow me to compare: Dennis Bergkamp is a legend and a winner. Robin van Persie is not.
Where does the club go from here? Well, since Robin’s meeting with the board, Arsène knew he had to go this summer. The reason Arsène insisted that he was an Arsenal player and was contracted to Arsenal is because we had to get as much money for him as possible. By declaring the player would leave, his value would drop considerably. Olivier Giroud was signed to replace Robin, and I doubt Arsène will buy any more forwards, though he may invest in other areas of the squad. Alex Song and Theo Walcott can leave if they don’t want to play for the club. I want players to wear the shirt who are desperate to play for our club. Song and Walcott are average players, and we can do much better.
Realistically, we are going to be as good and bad as we were last season. We'll finish the season with something around 70 points. In my opinion, anyone who thinks we can win the title is not being realistic. I can't see our 'top-four' target changing until Financial Fair Play is fully implemented and, even then, there is no guarantee that UEFA will implement it fairly. Hopefully, it will work in our favour and at the same time our commercial revenues will have increased, allowing us to compete. I love how Arsenal operate within their means and how supporters can have their say through the ‘fanshare’ scheme, but if we continue operating in this unique and classy manner, then we are all going to have to be patient. The only way we will be able to compete for titles today is if we sell to a foreign investor, just like Man City and Chelsea did, which is hardly the Arsenal way.
There's no doubt we will get lots of abuse from the Man Utd party. But just think, those 'armchair' fans really have no idea about the politics of football, and the relationship they have with their club is no way near as beautiful or involved as the relationship you or I may have with ours. Ignore them. Players will come and go, but the Arsenal will always be there for us. Nothing will change that.
