Reports this week have emerged stating Robin van Persie has become disillusioned with life at Old Trafford and wants to return to Le Grove. The ‘reliable sources’ claim the striker’s agent has met with manager Arsene Wenger to discuss a move back to Arsenal in the summer, with the Gunners boss indicating he would be open to his return.
Paddy Power have Arsenal down as 7/4 to be Van Persie’s next club. However, given the way he left the club would the Gunners faithful welcome the Dutchman back now he has realised the grass isn’t greener on the other side?
There is no denying that in his last two seasons for Arsenal Van Persie was out of this world, scoring 30 league goals for a team who finished miles behind the eventual champions Manchester City in third. The disappointment of having nothing to show for his best season at the club was what prompted him to move north in search of those mystical items called trophies.
At the time the transfer looked like a stroke of genius by Sir Alex Ferguson and it certainly turned out that way, Van Persie scoring 26 goals as Manchester United cantered to the title. As has been well documented now though, all is not well at Old Trafford and RVP is all of a sudden not happy with life under new United boss David Moyes. Those injuries, which don’t seem to occur when he is happy, have started to affect him again, restricting him to just 15 league appearances so far this term.
By all accounts, Van Persie has instructed his agent to see if Arsenal would have him back, and Mr Wenger is thought to have answered in the affirmative. Some Gunners fans will be licking their lips at the thought of having Van Persie back, while others will feel he shouldn’t return given the way he jilted the club two years ago.
Setting emotions aside though, Arsenal need a world class striker if they are to challenge for the Champions League and Premier League, and as well as Olivier Giroud has done at times he isn’t the one. Much like the arrival of Mesut Ozil gave the whole club a lift last summer, a comeback for Van Persie would be a massive boost to all concerned.
If we take what we read to be true and the two parties do want a reunion then the only sticking point should be persuading United to let go. That could be a tall order given Van Persie has still managed 14 goals despite his injury issues and Moyes is unlikely to agree to the sale unless they can find an ideal replacement. Striker’s like RVP don’t grow on trees though and the former Everton boss will more than likely give Arsenal a similar kind of response to the one they get from Liverpool when they bid for Luis Suarez last summer.
So sadly it looks as though Van Persie and Arsenal will never be reunited and Wenger will have to go back to the drawing board in the search for a top class striker who won’t cost the earth. C’est la vie.