So Robin Van Persie has left the Emirates and is headed to the Greener pastures of Old Trafford, so he says. It ends another transfer saga that Arsenal fans have become accustomed to and this might not be the end. Its less painful in the respect that a lot of Arsenal fans are now used to big players leaving the club and for those who are superstitious, Van Persie and Fabregas left exactly a year after each other, same date. Robin’s reasons was that him and the club did not agree with the direction. Its more painful in the respect that a lot of fans really felt a connection with Van Persie, he was a captain that loved the club, a captain that felt how the fans felt, a captain that bled red and white he said :
Anything we win here will come from the heart and that’s what I want. It’s my dream and I see no point in speaking about other teams when I have these dreams. I think other people know that about me; I’m just hungry to win with Arsenal and that’s it – Robin Van Persie February 2011
Fast Forward to now :
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.
Funny what a difference a year makes, back then Robin was a he could be exceptional type of player, he was always injured and there were doubts he could stay fit for a season, so what’s changed well lets consider all factors :
Injury free
Robin, went through the season without any major injuries and maybe he is now confident he can stay fit and play at the highest level and maybe he was not convinced that the current Arsenal squad was capable of matching his ambitions of winning major trophies before an inevitable retirement that is fast approaching.
Nasri and Fabregas
Nasri received and incredible amount if abuse from Arsenal fans, so did Ashley Cole and Adebayor but that’s not the only thing they have in common. They also went and won major trophies with their respective clubs. Yes Nasri received a torrential time at Arsenal when he came back, just pure hate but you only have to play Arsenal a few times. This could be one of the reasons he looked at.
Money
This is the main reason I’m mainly aligned to. Now I may be talking from my backside but I understand that the reason why Robin Van Persie’s transfer to Juventus fell through because they couldn’t balance his wage demands with the transfer fee, basically they couldn’t afford to spend £70 million pounds over four years for Robin. With Manchester City for those who are possibly thinking well he could have just gone to city, they have Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz (yes I know right), Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, and John Guidetti. The club wanted Van Persie but had to shift Santa Cruz, Adebayor, Dzeko and Tevez to be able to sign Robin and it looks like they will be unable to do that, and are also not that keen on spending 25 million pounds on a 29 year old with a bad injury record. This is possibly, Robin’s last big contract and it made more sense in that Kees Vos and Robin are both set to cash in big time on this transfer.
So what now for the future, I for one hope that the wages freed and the money made from the Van Persie sale is reinvested in another centre forward.
So this leads me to the topic of this piece, chess and how for me mirrors what football is like. During a chess game you have a lot of pawns, they are the soldiers, they provide a tactical base, they go out there and fight they consist the biggest number but are the least important parts of the club. They are the heroes of the war when a check mate is achieved they would have put in the most work. Then comes the rook’s or Castles they are the forts of the club they provide stability and support to the club that’s the fans, then you have the board members in hierarchy, the knights, the bishops and then the (Usmanov) then the king
(Stan).
Fans need to stop worshipping the pawns, they need to worship their clubs more, players say this thing then the next moment they are gone. Bar a few examples loyalty is something that is dying in football. Since Roman Abramovich flew above a small blue stadium then dropped his anchor and said that’s mine football hasn’t been the same. Add the bossman to that it has given players an incredible amount of power over clubs. Maybe financial fair play rules are required to restore the peace and get rid of the madness that has gripped football. Its funny for a club that has had a recent history of bad player loyalty we have one of the most loyal managers in football today. He has shunned offers from Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and all the other big clubs in Europe to stay and manage Arsenal, it’s a shame that a lot of players don’t share his vision, or maybe they do but money changes everything. ‘Heroes come and go. our passion is forever’.
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