Arsene Wenger has broken his silence on the issue of Robin van Persie’s contract by writing in his Eurosport blog that he’s desperate to keep the striker at Arsenal.
The boss, who has been penning his thoughts for the continental broadcaster throughout Euro 2012, is expected to hold talks with the Dutchman in the coming weeks as he tries to persuade his protégé to reject the advances of several suitors.
“We want to keep Robin van Persie at all costs, because we depend on him offensively,” confirmed Wenger.
Tugging on the heartstrings a little, while giving a quick reminder of both the player’s off-field problems in the summer of 2006 and his persistent injuries in the subsequent years, the boss continued:
“I’ve always supported him even in the hardest times, and I hope he will end his career at Arsenal.”
Having already added Lukas Podolski to help lesson the goal scoring burden on his club captain, Wenger last week snapped up Olivier Giroud from reigning Ligue 1 champions Montpellier.
Revealing he’d scouted the physical hitman for some time, the boss backed his new boy to be a Premier League revelation:
“I’ve known Olivier Giroud for some time. He played for my friend Daniel Sanchez alongside Laurent Koscielny at Tours. The first time I saw him, I found he had something intelligent and dangerous. I always said he could score goals and assist his partners.
“Our game is based on cooperation between the players in the offensive phase and he’ll integrate easily. I don’t like simple goalscorers, they must also add to the collective. He is good in the air which is rare. He’s quite complete and has a great room for improvement.”
Wenger’s comments back-up the latest mutterings from Peter Hill-Wood who went on record last night to dismiss suggestions that Arsenal had rejected a paltry bid from Juventus for Van Persie.
“As far as I am aware nobody has made any offer for him and he is away so we are not in any dialogue at all,” said Hill-Wood.
“We’re not in the remotest bit interested in selling him.”
Love RVP, but we’ve has 1 1/2 good seasons out of him in eight years. The least he could do is extend his contract by a year, see what it’s like playing with the new boys and leave next year for some cash if it doesn’t go well.
OR sign a five-year deal and move for his true value (£60m) next summer as a gift to the Arse. Where’s the harm in that?
Even in Football Manager RvP wouldn’t go for £60m. He’s going to be 30 in a year.
i unloaded him to man city for 50m.
Mansour al cunt was the name of the city manager at the time.
*Mansour al samir
Booooooooooooorrrriiiiiinnnnnng.
Deja f**king vu.
The negociations seem drag on and be tougher than expected? In all honesty, I don’t think it’s the wages that will make RVP stay or go. So why is it taking so long, especially if there is no other “official” offer? Surely RVP know what he’s got at Arsenal, so taking a decision (to stay) shouldn’t be that difficult?
Arsene (!) signing two big players (strikers) already certainly shows he’s been preparing for both scenarios.
All of the top players go to Man City for the wages. Simple as that.
I think he wants to go to Barca or Madrid, if they come calling I will get worried.
He’s quite complete and has a great room for improvement…. What’s Wenger saying. He confuses me sometimes.
I think Wenger means that his skill set is ‘complete’, as in he has everything that’s needed. The improvement part means he’ll only get better..
I think he may be referring to the cooperation bit and playing as an integrated part of the team.
“He’s quite complete and has a great room for improvement.” – Say what?
Quite complete -> not exactly fully complete -> can be improved -> synonyms -> circular reasoning -> no it isn’t.
I would like that too wenger.
Thanks Arsene, we now know he will leave.
why does everyone think RVP will leave for wages.if at all he signs an extension he will earn reasonably well here and will also get bonus upfront.basically what it means is that we are improving his wages without actually breaking the wage structure by satisifying him in the form of bonus.
So,it means we CAN keep our superstars by offering them loads of cash.
Arsenal Fans in a nutshell:
End of the season: Wenger hasn’t spoken anything about the contract talks. RVP WILL LEAVE!!!
Today: Wenger said he won’t sell RVP. HELL, RVP IS SURELY GONNA LEAVE!!
not mutually exclusive
I’m not saying he will necessarily leave, but that in this situation, past experiences proved us that Arsene’s word had no value in this very context.
And what exactly was he supposed to say about Nasri? “I want to sell the chinless twat”? Or about Cesc? The entire world knew he wanted to return to Barcelona. What is he supposed to say about RVP?
By the way, have you seen the way Arsene handled the French national team coaching offer? Not only did he put his money where his mouth is and showed the kind of loyalty to the club he’s demanding from RVP, compare that with how Harry handled things at Tottenham.
Excellent point Cromulus. What we’ve got to understand is Arsene has handled every situation with a cool head of a model professional. These guys who blame him would rather have ol’ ‘Arry managing Arsenal.
Well, I hope you got the message now, and that next time you’ll see AW say anything about him fighting to keep a player in the club, it means he’s already gone.
Dude, why do you think RVP issued that shitty letter on his website? There is but one reason – the club were going to try to hold him to his last year of his contract and he doesn’t want to stay.
It is not Wenger who doesn’t want him to stay. It is not Wenger who wants to sell him. Wenger is saying exactly what he wants to do – keep him.
Besides, at some point a language game has to be played. You can’t just say “I don’t want player X, he can go” and then expect to sell anyone for the best you can get. You can do that with assets that you are shopping around, but not with assets for which buyers will beg you for. Where you do have a point is here: the minute Wenger says “we want to keep him at any cost” means that there is discontent or that the player is considering a move. But even that is not an automatic sell. And even… Read more »
I need enlightening. Is there a window or limitation for when players can or cannot sign contract extensions? Is it not year round?
Yes, but unless a player has unconditional love and loyalty for his team he will only sign if the contract offered is better than he thinks he can get elsewhere, the level of football on offer is as good as he thinks he deserves, and only when he is sure he has heard from any and all potential suitors. Unfortunately in a depressed economy clubs are more careful about what they will spend (unless they are Man City) and many deals happen late in the summer transfer window. This means if you are waiting for a player to sign a… Read more »
balotelli has made a strong case for starting most games for city next season (though he is alway only one mad moment away from “never playing for” mancini again). As things stand, not really sure how much game time robin will get at city (assuming he’s even considering that option) @deepakyen
yeah, and Cesc won’t even get into Barca’s XI! oh hang on…
Point being, it never serves to keep your best players by trying to claim they aren’t good enough to play for your rivals.
PHW said the samething during the Fabregas & Nasri sagas – and we all know how that ended up !
sigh….
@a gunner: PHW and Wenger also said it many times, about Henry, Cesc, and Vieira, in summers when they turned out to be right. Most players will leave eventually, and the fact that they do doesn’t detract from the fact that we do try to and usually manage to hold on to them.
Fair enough…they were right at one time…BUT THOSE TIMES are no more… those were the times when we had leverage – when the team was winning – or was close to winning…and we had enough quality in the rest of the squad that was close to the player who was considering to leave ….
So my point is that they havent been right the last few times with Flamini, Adebayor, Cesc, Nasri….
Anyway its not as if i’m hoping PHW gets it wrong again…just hoping that him and Wenger are not bull-shitting around, this time !
If someone came to you and offered to double your current salary for pretty much doing the same job I’m sure we’d all jump in a heartbeat.
I’d rather sell him for 30-40million now then lose him on a free when he’s contract is up.
Of course best case would be that RVP signs for another 5 years and ends his career at Arsenal.
Reality is we simply can’t complete in terms of player salary with the likes of Madrid and City.
I am not in the fortunate position to demand £100k plus per week, so I don’t know how I would feel, but I would like to think that there comes a point (and surely £100k per week would be that point) where I earn enough money and would follow my heart instead of my (and agents) purse. So, no, given that scenario I hope I would stay, and not jump for double the pay…. I would also doubt that we could get/demand £30-40 mill for any player who has one year left on his contract and will be 29 years… Read more »
Steve Pinker, the world famous cognitive scientist, was a professor at MIT when Harvard stole him away. MIT then tried to lure him back with tons of money, and he famously said ‘I already have a condo, what am I going to do? Buy another condo?’
Here’s to wishing that RVP doesn’t want a second condo.
Also MIT weren’t anywhere near to qualifying for the Champions League that year. But seriously folks, I think there are other factors which work in our favour: – Despite all the murmuring about wages, I think Arsenal could afford to offer VP a wage that only a few other mentioned teams could match, if it came down to it. – Man City have Aguero, Ballotelli and Silva in attack. What do they need Van Persie for? Plus Wenger definitely won’t want to sell them something they can then sic on us twice a season. A midfielder and a fullback is… Read more »
Great story, dude, but MIT and Harvard are, like, a five-minute drive away from each other.
I think the story was about the fact eventually there is a limit to how much more money will affect decisions. The guy in the story could have swapped companies for more money but he felt he had enough and earning more was no longer his driving force (The condo being just an example of how much money he had and was being offered) but his need to be happy in his job
Eden Harvard?
I know where you’re coming from, but I’d honestly take the financial loss of him leaving on a free next season, than sell him to Man city!
But that’s just me and unfortunately im not on the board of directors 🙁
I always wonder about this. Yes, double your money is tempting but then if the people I would be working for were a bunch of mercenary cunts then I think I’d rather stay where I was appreciated. Depends on your priorities.
I think we should keep him whether he signs a new contract or not..
saying that though , I do believe that he is going to sign a new contract….I hope he ends his career with us…RVP can be a big asset for us to provide experience, let our new boys settle in and maybe even mentor someone the younger strikers ala Joel Campbell, Afobe..
WENGER OUT!
-sorry just having a ‘haha’ to myself…
@ninmung: I think by “complete” Wenger means that he’s an all-round striker, no gaps in his armoury. So it doesn’t contradict there being room for further improvement.
@ken. No, there isn’t. The transfer window only relates to players moving between clubs, not to new contracts or out-of-contract players.
To be honest i’m getting rather sick of waiting, It’s killing me. How can rvp take us through this shit all over again. He was here here last summer and saw how the end of summer sales destroyed us. Either you want to sign or you don’t. We’ve already made the signings that he demanded (hopefully more are on the way) and he’s still stalling. I’m sweating out of my arse here wondering if he’s staying or not and he’s in some holiday?. Please mr.rvp dont break my heart by leaving and also don’t fuck me over just coz I… Read more »
you spoke my mind 🙂 we need to know asap…
Chill the fuck out man.
Football, although great isn’t actually life or death.
If RVP leaves, so be it. I’m sure it won’t affect your life THAT much.
Arsenal will survive.
Sweating out your arse wondering… give me a break.
Live your own life, don’t concern yourself with the lives of others that you don’t even know.
Shitty gooner alert?
Well you think so?…….if you hate what I posted so much, grab a chair, sit back and wait for me
to give a FUCK!
What happened to all the talk about putting a deadline on him to sign? Yet again, Arsenal allow agents to dick them about.
And what other option do they have? It’s the age of player power. They hold all the cards and they know it. Even if we set an artificial deadline for a decision and withdraw our offer after that, we still have the player for one year. Who we then need someone to offer good money for, or else you have a disgruntled player for the year, who you lose for free at the end.
No, you make it clear that we want a deal signed by a certain date, or we sell. You make this a club policy that will apply to all players entering their final year with no exceptions.
Otherwise we get the same old crap every Summer where our best players, aided by the likes of Darren Dein, mess the club about until the end of the transfer window. Don’t forget that the clubs pay the players’ wages and there are only a few top clubs willing to pay top Dollar.
Why dont we kidnap his family and force him to sign!!!! 😉
Usmanov wouldn’t stand for this shit, he’ll get his people to sort it out! lol
@argonaut
To sell, you need to have a buyer. Someone willing to pay the right price for you, and offering the right wages for the player to agree to move. A player can always just see out his contract and then cover those ‘losses’ in wages, through a signing on bonus. Of course it’s a risk for the player if he gets injured, but it is a definite loss for the club holding on to his last year of the contract.
Lets look at the Robin contract this way. Let;s say he’s told his agent that he wants to stay at Arsenal. His agent will then say ok, let me try and get you the best deal possible. Which involves bluffing about him wanting to leave, having other offers, and calling Arsenal’s bluff about there being some sort of deadline to sign by. If Arsenal decide that the deadline they put wasn’t just a bluff, they might end up trying to sell a player who wants to stay. In fact making him then want to leave. And even that, will likely… Read more »
“No, you make it clear that we want a deal signed by a certain date, or we sell.” What do you mean “No”? Then the player – or rather, the player’s devious fuck agent – says “Fine, whatever.” And now the player thinks the club don’t give two shits whether he stays or not, and the club is committed to selling a player everyone and his mum knows they want to keep. And look like mugs when they come back a few days later saying shit like “Oh, we didn’t mean it. Let’s go back to the table.” And when/if… Read more »
The guys been at the euros and then on holiday
Chill out he’s due back for further talks and don’t be surprised if he signs a new deal in the next couple of weeks .
Truth is only wenger gazidis and rvp know how the initial talks went the rest is just speculation
@Ref
You sound like a clingy girlfriend, mate.
Are you perchance, “Persie-whipped?”
If that pun isn’t your greatest achievement today then you’re having a good day 😀
Arent we all?
“Intelligent & dangerous” am i the only one who had a tingle down my spine in anticipation of our potential strike force next season?
The most important question remains: Why did PHW choose skysport this time?
Thats a very good point, PHW only speaks to the the Daily star, this must be bullshit.
RVP is gone, its a done deal 🙁
Personally, I believe RvP would sign if Arsenal offered him four-year deal for £130k a week.
The problem with Arsenal could be that they’re offering him a two-year extension and RvP knows the best thing for his career. He wants to win trophies and earn decent money without risking his long term career.
Anyway, I feel insecure when Arsene starts to talk about how desperate he is to hold on a player. The last time he said something like that, he went ahead and sold both Cesc and Na$ty.
I get you but do you expect him to say otherwise in public.
any little thing anyone says is chopped and twisted by the media…anything!!!!
Are you suggesting that he was lying about that? Absurd. Of course he was desperate to hold onto them. That’s why the saga dragged on all summer and led to us making all those (amazingly good as it turned out) panic buys. I think we need to show a little patience here. The transfer window has only just opened, Robin’s was at the euros and is now still on holiday. It’s a bit early to start panicking. And it’s important to remember that the Arsenal board are good at doing what’s best for the club and that doesn’t often include… Read more »
I’m not going to panic over this one. Been thinking, and I can’t imagine where Robin would end up playing. Man City – he wouldn’t be first choice, with the younger Balotelli, Tevez (if he stays), Silva and Dzeko vying for spots – he might get some game time for one season, then he’d be stuck on the bench. PSG – Who the fuck would want to play in the French League? That’d be a step down. Juventus – Haven’t got as much money as people think, and their support is questionable. He’d also not fit into the Italian style… Read more »
Red Carrot I agree with you on the other teams but you’re kidding if you think RVP wouldn’t walk straight into the Man City team – he’s been the best striker in the league for the last year and a half and, even ignoring the fact that quality wise he’s better than all their strikers, he’s also much more reliable than Balotelli and Tevez (I’m not going to disrespect the man by comparing him to Dzeko). The only way he doesn’t get into the Man City team is if he’s injured, which given his past is quite a possibility, but… Read more »
I disagree. Aguero is 24. Balotelli is, what, 21? Tevez is 28. Dzeko is 26. All four of them are younger than Robin. Generally speaking, strikers have their best careers between the ages of 26-30. Which means that Robin will maybe enjoy one more season as a top striker before he’ll either fade or become more of a centre-forward. Robin walking into the Man City team? With Mancini as manager? When he’s spent more getting Silva and Aguero? Doubtful. Mancini wouldn’t dare playing Robin in front of his beloved scumbag Balotelli or his prize asset Aguero. Just because we think… Read more »
They also have that Aguero guy
@rad carrot.
everyone knows how we treat an arsenal legend.how can we ever forget the comeback of thierry.as a matter of fact we forgot what’s going on in the game when thierry was warming up and we were chanting his name.that shows how much we respect our legends.
if van persie stays and keeps the same attitude as last season he will definitley go on and reach that level.
in the currents squad i can name 3 players who are very near to reaching that level in a couple of years.that would be van persie,sagna and song
Agreed, and that’s what I hope Henry said to Robin during his brief comeback. If Robin is clear-headed, he’ll understand what we can make him – a true legend, rather than someone who was known to skip away from a club just moments from greatness.
If he goes anywhere else, he may be a big player for a while, but he’ll fade into obscurity.
watching fabregas for Spain reminds what a midfielder he was for us….there are two midfielders who have the potential to play false 9 or 10 or dictate play or an actual 9….step forward Wilshire or Ramsey. 2 years …time it will take for them to mature in my opinion. on that note….watching a compilation of Walcott on youtube from cwdcomps makes me realise just how much he’s improved,the clear cut chances he created which extreme poor finishing let him down… finally…van persie isn’t that good at finishing clear cut chances as he is with more difficult ones BUT THAT IS… Read more »
I’m not denying van persies ability he is a fucking awesome player but he only gets that role and the full support of the team with us anywhere else he went he wouldn’t get the same unconditional support from team mates and fans and he seems like a smart down to earth guy and arsene has acted swiftly to add back up.i got a good feeling about this season.in arsene we trust!!!! Come on you gooners !!!!! No moaning no scapegoats lets just get behind the team(who ever it is)and give it our best!!!!!!!!!
Arsenal must be mindful of what happened with Henry… will he sign, wont he sign?! Eventually, he did, the fans rejoiced and for something similar to the reported £130k p/w being offered to RvP, banking a £5m signing on fee which was paid upfront. Henry then played in less than half the league games the following season and featured in only 27 games in all competitions and left for Barcelona the next year at a cost to Arsenal of £692k per PL game and close to £1.2m per PL goal! Arsenal must make it clear to RvP that if he… Read more »
This Van Persie issue is becoming delusional! Arsene was right when he said “I’ve always supported him even in the hardest times, and I hope he will end his career at Arsenal.” If Van wants to show his love for the Arsenal and the Arsenal Family for standing by him in those hardest times then let him sign the contract now otherwise let him be moved on. No one player is greater than the Arsenal
He’s going and there is nothing we can do about it. If he was staying he would have signed a new contract before the Euro’s which would have shown a statement of intent by both club and RVP. We still need to buy a quality central defensive midfield player. If not then I don’t see much change from last year!
Yes, but if he was dead set on going it probably would also have been announced beforehand to get this all out of the way. I think this situation is rather different to either of last summer’s. Cesc wanted to go back to Barcelona and always had done and Nasri is a cunt. RVP has been with us for 9 years has a clear love for the club, doesn’t seem to be motivated solely by money and has a family that seem to also want him to stay here. I think he probably knows what he has here and that… Read more »
It may be devious, but I understand him not signing a contract just yet – he wants to hold out to see what other options there are, and maybe even force the club to sign a few new players to mount a serious title challenge next season. If every player signed a contract immediately, they’d still be playing for £8.50 a week and a packet of chips.
I’d sign for that, to be honest.
Mmm. I’d sign for free, if only to get a look at Arteta and Giroud in the shower.
…what?
the truth remains that we all have no idea what the discussions between RVP and the Arsenal management was. we don’t know wat the sticking point was and why the contract(what ever the actual terms of it were) was not signed. RVP responsibly has been mute on the subject as has the board. but if i might, i might postulate that in addition to quality signings, the length of the contract offered was a sticking point ala a certain Pires?
I’m with Blogs on this one: it is 50/50. he will sign. or he will not. end of story. if he signs, then all is well. if he doesn’t the tough it. we struggled when cesc left, but we still came out fine. bruised, but fine. and we will be fine, whether RvP stays or goes.
RVP needs to renew his contract BUT, have a get-out clause inserted which states if arsenal don’t win a trophy next season he is allowed to leave for a given price, etc etc that would be the fairest all round.
I love RVP, but the old adage that ‘no one player is bigger than the club’ is completely true. If we are pinning our hopes of success on a single player, then we are thick motherfuckers. What happens if RVP gets injured (moderately/highly likely) or has a poor run of form? We’d be fucked! No footballer in the world, no matter how good, is worth £20,000,000. If we can get a good whack of money for a player pushing 30 and in the final year of his contract, we should take it. In saying that, I’d prefer if he stays…..but… Read more »
I know where ure coming from but we can’t keep selling our best players season after season, yet scratch our head when we have a mediocre/average season.
It’s not rocket science, we all want success for Arsenal.
And hanging onto our better players is a start.
How gutted will you be if we sold RVP but keep Chamakh or Park(no disrespect)
That would be absurd, bordering on insanity.
Even those mugs from the lane somehow managed to convince their best player to sign an extension, without a manager!!!!!!
[…] 来源：[Arseblog News] […]
It does depend on RVP’s priorities whether he signs or not. If he wants to become a club legend ala Shearer at Newcastle, he should remain at Arsenal for his own sake. However, if it’s money and/or trophies, he will move on. Financially we can’t compete with teams like City, and trophy-wise I don’t see us winning anything for the foreseeable future, especially given the low regard Wenger has for the domestic cups and the way the board seem to place qualification for the Champions League as the first priority every season.
I find it very signifigant that Robin’s mother José Ras, was a painter, and his father, Bob, a sculptor. This is just conjecture but, being raised in an artistic environment could have instilled in him a set of values somewhat differant than the average footballer where money is the be all and end all of decision making.
As I have suggested before, I think that Robin and his family are happy in London and with Arsenal and I think he will end up remaining with the club.
Agree. He chose his art, has had time space and freedom to craft it and express it at Arsenal. He has an audience, patrons and a teacher who have indulged his development and revelled in his performances and commitment. The fact that his art happens to pay fabulous sums of money – I wager well beyond what either of his artist parents could ever dream to earn from theirs – is a bonus. Why should he leave just as is reaching the height of his expressive powers, on a stage designed around him, with willing and able collaborators who all… Read more »
The last time RvP was renegotiating his contract was the summer of 2009. Without an international tournament to distract everyone, it took until July 8 to sign his current extension. Prior to that, there were loads of stories of him going elsewhere including possibly to ManUre. All I’m saying is that these things take time and when you include a month long interruption of most negations due to the European Championship, whatever happens is likely to take much longer than most fans, including myself, are willing to tolerate. Thinking about it further, RvP was coming off a career best season… Read more »
It s amazing how just 3 letters can provide us with lots of clicks! Click click click click… everybody has something to say… Rvp…stay…. click click click…. he will leave…..boooring… Wenger, go buy some great midfielder and he will stay.
In order to understand the Wengerian language, it requires a bit of Alice In Wonderland logic. A lot of times, when Arsene says something, you can only shrug and go about your business.
(If memory serves me right, I recall back in January that Wenger said Arshavin wasn’t going anywhere, and within a week the pudgy Russian was enjoying the frigid winds of St. Petersburg.)
Perhaps we should hold him to the final year of his contract, then in the final week blow his kneecap off with a shotgun, this highlighting the risk of running your contract down to other players. We could be the football equivalent of one of those nut job husbands who ‘mark’ their ex cos of they can’t have them no one else can.
Thats a fantastic idea. I’m in.
That won’t. work. If he has no knees then Spuds will sign him as a centre back. And if you scar his face to the point where he makes children cry in the street, well then he really would be destined to join Man City, it’s the only place he’d feel handsome
Sell him if RVP doesn’t wanna sign a new contract. I’m tired with all this drama. Even to man $hitty. Just make sure we get a lot of money so we can get his replacement and a midfielder.
In arsene we trust.. Just like last year with nasri and cesc.
[…] and future still to be sorted Arsene Wenger has made his desire clear in a blog for Eurosport. He said: We want to keep Robin van Persie at all costs, because we depend on him offensively. I’ve always […]
What does TGSTEL mean?
The Greatest Striker That Ever Lived – Nick Bendtner.
Thanks for that, sometime the coffee just doesn’t work
I worry that Arsenal are becoming no more than a shop-window for these players. Year after year it’s the same story and we see our best players go to the mega-rich, benefactor owned clubs. No wonder every ex-player and there mamma’s mamma thinks it’s ok to have a go at us.
And now he’s gone…
http://robinvanpersie.com/2012/07/04/update-for-the-fans/
[…] 那也并不意味着这个夏天的关键问题已经不再是罗宾的去留，罗宾的合同与去留问题仍待解决，温格也在他为欧洲体育所撰写的博文中明确表达他的愿望。他这样说道： 我们将不计代价地留住范佩西，因为在进攻端我们挺依赖他的表现。哪怕是在他职业生涯最为艰难的时刻，我们都一如既往地给予他支持，而我希望他能够在阿森纳退役。 […]