carlos92 said:SPIDERBOY said:dont know if this has been posted,apologies if it has.....as much as i like RVP...£30 mil,cant be right...
Steve Stammers column: Why van Persie risks losing everything by playing hardball with Arsenal and Arsene Wenger
Some time in the next two weeks, Robin van Persie will sit down with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to talk about his future.
He would do well to listen to the Frenchman who will make it abundantly clear that if van Persie decides on pastures new, then the club in his sights had better be prepared to pay top dollar. Around £30 million to be precise.
And if no such offer is forthcoming, then van Persie will go into the last year of his contract as an Arsenal player and the prospect of a free transfer at the end of it.
False economy? Maybe. But van Persie will be 30 in August next year and that £250,000 wage offer currently banded about may have shrunk a little. As soon as the age starts with a "3", then the twitches start.
Van Persie's stock was never higher than in May when he finished as Footballer of the Year, with 30 goals in the Premier League and an injury-free nine months under belt.
But he suffered in the Euros along with the rest of the ego-driven Dutch squad who clearly ignored the fact that there is no "i" in team. Van Persie just did not look the same player although it has to be said he was not helped by the evident chaos around him.
Now come the crunch talks with Wenger - and we will find out if there is a gambling side to van Persie's nature.
One certainty is that Wenger has a stubborn streak. For all his professorial demeanour, Wenger can be as hard as the next man. He has shown he can be ruthless in the past when he has decided the time was up for players regarded as iconic.
The names of Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires come to mind.
So van Persie needs to be aware that if he going to play hardball, Wenger will return it with interest. If there is no £30 million on the table, van Persie will stay and be allowed to take his chances on a free transfer with his 30th birthday a matter of weeks away.
Wenger, of course, wants him to stay. Van Persie is quality. And if the Dutchman opts to see out his contract, then there will be time to bed in new signings Lukas Podolski and Olvier Giroud while they adapt to English football.
Wenger will make his case clear. Arsenal will not suffer from this scenario - so Robin, it is over to you.
The Arse are not in the strongest bargaining position, that is why the talks RvP is meant to be having with their board.
surely its in their best interest,to take around £15 ish now,than let him walk for nowt next year..