Arsene Wenger has revealed that Robin van Persie called him about a return to the Emirates, but he turned him down.
Van Persie made one of the most controversial transfers in Premier League history when he moved from Arsenal to Manchester United in 2012.
The Dutchman was a key player at Arsenal but he saw the club lose top players like Cesc Fabregas and he was into the final year of his current deal.
The club wanted him to stay, but they had not offered him a new deal and he received an offer from United.
Arsenal was keen to keep arguably their most important player at the club, however, they couldn’t match the contract terms on offer at United.
He was eventually sold for £24 million to the Red Devils under Sir Alex Ferguson.
He fell out of favour after three years at Old Trafford and Arsene Wenger has revealed that he asked to return, but he was too old and Arsenal was focused on signing younger players at the time.
He wrote in his new book, Arsene Wenger, My Life in Red and White as quoted by the Metro: ‘In 2012, he announced his intention not to extend his contract. All the big clubs were courting him. I sold him to Manchester United.
‘The supporters were angry with me for this but we could not match the offer. I managed to negotiate his departure for £24 million, which was a huge amount at the time for a player with a year left on his contract. I had only the interest of the club in mind.
‘My relationship with Alex Ferguson and Manchester United had improved by then, but every transfer is a polite game of poker where you attempt to give not anything away.
‘Van Persie had a fantastic first six months at Old Trafford: he put the team on track for the Premiership title and made it even more difficult for us. But after three years of the four that he signed for, he was injured and Ferguson (sic) sold him to the Turkish club Fenerbahce.
‘He called me because he wanted to come back, but it was impossible: he was at the end of his career and we were investing in young players.’
