132 goals in 277 games.
These are the stats of a player who was a legend in the making at Arsenal Football club, the Shoprite of football, as a friend joked.
Despite being a sport loved by many, football is also a business entity, where transactions are done over specific periods in the game’s calendar. Players have left their teams for good, bad and ugly reasons. The curious case of Robin van Persie has dragged on for the best part of one month, and reality has donned on every Gooner that he’s actually going to Barcelona Real Madrid JuventusManchester City Manchester United.
He had stated that he wanted to win trophies, but it became clear to him that he disagreed in many aspects, the way the club was supposed to move forward. The proactive signings of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud was followed up by the acquisition of Santi Cazorla, but it wasn’t still good enough for Mr. Ambition, Robin van Persie.
The speculation regarding his future was rife, and potential suitors arrived as well. The mega riches of Anzhi, Paris St. Germain and Manchester City, the prestigious and illustrious Juventus and of course, the eternal and fierce rivals, Manchester United. After weighing his options with his agent, Juventus, Manchester City and Manchester United were favorites to sign the forward but the first two names in the aforementioned list fell by the roadside, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson and his hordes sure-fire favorites to land the Dutchman.
The media Vultures did their bit to sell him to Manchester United, but I took every bit of info with a pinch of salt until I mistakenly visited Arsenal’s official website to see,
“Arsenal Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for the transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United.
Van Persie will travel to Manchester on Thursday in order to agree personal terms and complete a medical ahead of the proposed move.
Further updates will feature on Arsenal.com in due course.”
BBC Sport reported that a £24m bid had been agreed by both parties, and the deal may be wrapped up before Manchester United’s curtain raiser against Everton on Sunday. For reasons best known to Chuck Norris, Frankenstein and Lord Voldemort, soon-to-be-captain, Thomas Vermaelen, still remains optimistic that he’s going to stay.
On the bright side, the shrewd Arsene Wenger has struck gold yet again in selling a player who was purchased for £2.75m eight years ago. Hopefully, the money will be re-invested back into the transfer market, as Inside Spanish Football claims that Arsenal has locked its cross hairs on Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente. The Gunners were also heavily linked with a move for Olympiakos’ Kevin Mirallas but he’s set to sign for Everton (via the Metro).
Keeping van Persie against his will would have made him sulk like a baby who needs its mama’s breast milk, and on the business side, there was no point keeping him when there was a potential to sell him for megabucks. The last time I checked, Arsenal has always been all about the profits, but it’s really shameful to know that the club let its prized asset go to its bitter rivals, Manchester United.
The prospect of watching him with Wayne Rooney is worse than seeing Freddy Kreuger and Jason X in the same movie, but reality really bites worse than a hungry canine.
Laurent Koscielny has been a revelation since his move from Lorient, and unlike van Persie, he was quick to put pen to paper when the offer arrived at the table. Bosscielny has tipped his buddie, Giroud, to fill van Persie’s big boots to bang in the goals at the Emirates,
“I played with him at Tours and he was a great player then. Now he is even more confident and scores lots of goals. I know his qualities and he will give a lot for us. I know he has the physical quality to play in this league. For a striker it is about confidence and I am sure he working hard to start well with Arsenal.”
To make Gooners out there change the frowns caused by van Persie’s shenanigans to smiles, Koscielny has declared that he can be better this year and he has everything he needs to be happy at Arsenal.
It’s also worth noting that the great burden of goal scoring won’t be placed on Giroud’s shoulders because there’s a certain German clinical Machine that has waited patiently for the Number 10 jersey. Lukas Podolski has assured the Arsenal faithful to expect many more goals from him this season and he also reiterated his desire to win the Premier League with his new club as well.
Giroud and Podolski may be new to the English game, but with the ammunition the likes of Santi Cazorla, Alex Song (if he stays), Gervinho, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta et al would supply to them, they are sure to smash in the goals. To refresh your memory, here’s a friendly reminder.
In his eight years at the club, van Persie gave his all on the pitch and he put his body in the line several times for Arsenal as well as the Netherlands. However, he has chosen a new chapter in his football career and that’s a decision that has been respected by Arsenal Football Club.
The post-van Persie era has begun.
Let’s move on.
Sayonara.
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