I was at the Emirates on Saturday so was a bit late over the weekend hearing Van Persie’s punditry for BT Sport. Now this will put me in the minority, but I have never been angry at the Dutchman. I was gutted he left but never directed my feelings towards him.
I can understand how someone at the peak of his powers wanted to win something. In his last season for us he nearly single handedly got one of the worse squads in our history into the Champions League. Not one gooner can accuse him of not giving everything till his last game for us.
It would have been an injustice had he gone his whole career without a Premiership medal. How can I as a fan complain about Stan Kroenke’s lack of ambition and not expect the player to do the same? Has he not been proven right about our lack of direction, has he?
Most professionals will move if they are given more money and a better chance of success, it’s a no brainer. Yet he’s claiming it was us who got tired of him.
To clarify, this wasn’t a man trying to antagonize, and also not saying what we wanted to hear. He seemed to be honest in his outlook. Surely though he never sensed the fans didn’t want him, we couldn’t have been more opposed about our best talent heading to Manchester. Instead he suggested the majority of gunners haven’t known the truth, that we never bothered offering him an extension. That would contradict what Arsene Wenger said at the time. Maybe we need to hear from our ex manager for clarity?
It could be we heard the salary other parties were willing to pay Robin and just couldn’t compete. But if we didn’t even rfght 100 percent, that just sums up our owner’s priorities. He saw a final chance to cash in on an asset and chose that over finding the cash to make him stay?
Has anyone’s opinion changed on Van Persie?