The day Arsenal goal-scoring machine Robin Van Persie left Arsenal
Today 12 years ago Arsenal’s main talisman Robin Van Persie said farewell for Premier League title rivals.
On the 15th August 2012 the striker who had finished the 2011/12 Premier League campaign as top striker with 30 goals, joined Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United who had just lost the Premiership on the final day of the season to Manchester City.
Van Persie had been at Arsenal for almost a decade, joining in 2004 as a youngster when the Gunners were still at Highbury before setting up camp again in 2006 at The Emirates. He had certainly seen a lot of changes at the North Londoners, to say the least, and would become Arsenal’s eighth top goalscorer in history by the time he waved goodbye.
During his tenure at Arsenal he claimed one FA Cup Winners medal in 2005 when Arsenal overturned Manchester United on penalties in the final after having sealed the Community Shield in the summer of 2004 against The Red Devils again.
Before The Flying Dutchman left Arsenal, the once captain of the club said on the fourth July 2012 that he would not be re-signing on, causing concern amongst Gooners who hoped he’d stay with his lethal goalscoring capability’s which had been relied upon.
There was much confusion to why this was the case however earlier this year Van Persie explained that the Arsenal committee didn’t hand him a new contract.
A brutually honest Van Persie declared to Sportskeeda in early February; ”But I can promise you on my kids if someone comes with proof that Arsenal offered me a deal, I will give you a million pounds now, today. It was Arsenal’s decision not to offer me a deal and that is up to them. After many conversations, it became clear that we had different ideas about the club.
“I had seven points where I thought Arsenal could improve and in my opinion those seven points they should start dealing with them straight away to be able to compete with the best teams. It doesn’t really matter what points they are, what matters is that Ivan Gazidis decided that he didn’t agree with one single point of those seven – which is fair enough.
“So taking that information on board, Arsenal doesn’t offer me a deal, they didn’t agree with my views – which were only to help. Honest views of how the club should move forward – that is a very clear message. For me it is not an issue anymore, that’s life.”
So this is why and how Van Persie left The Emirates for Old Trafford’s “The Theatre of Dreams”.
The man who is currently in charge of Dutch team SC Heerenveen of the Eredivisie later won the Premiership at last in 2013 with Manchester United in Fergusons last year as The Red Devils boss, who rounded off his record 13th English top-flight title. It wouldn’t have been possible without Van Persie’s 26 goals which witnessed him lift his second successive Premiership Golden Boot.
Even though he left over a decade ago the move still sits uncomfortably in the hearts of many Gooners…
Liam Harding
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He was right
Realised the club had no ambition and only cared about top 4
Got the title he deserved
Totally agree, I remember it well, he was a class player for us and to let him leave was crazy and he proved his point
Wtf, I’m actually agreeing with Dan 😲.
🎵You were right Robin, you were right…🎵
Errr, just one problem – that is NOT what he said in the article above.
It’s a long time ago but my memory back then is of van persie saying (according to media quotes) something along the lines of, as you say, “Arsenal not gonna win anything any time soon” or words to that effect – and also something about wanting more wages at a time when the club couldn’t pay more due to wage structure, money issues due to stadium rebuild etc.
What he’s trying to claim now is very different.
Sounds like he’s trying to rewrite history in his favour. Maybe he fancies joining the coaching staff now the club is doing well hehe.
What’s wrong with that ?
What’s wrong with what? Are you referring to the “joining the coaching staff” comment?
That’s just a throw-away non-serious thing at the end – interesting that you only comment on that and not the part about you totally misunderstanding (or misrepresenting) what was actually said in the article.
Yes. He was right and did the best for his career.
Where, I will go against him is that he spent the most part of his Arsenal career in the treatment room and the only season he got fully fit he left us, which does not show loyalty.
Works both ways mate
Clubs don’t show loyalty either
To be fair in this case the club did show loyalty where others wouldn’t. In the case of what was going on behind the scenes, I don’t blame him, particularly given the comment we’ve had from Fabregas on that dressing room at that time seems all the good players from that era up and left when they could.
It’s the fact he chose our biggest rival at the time, the rest I understand but not joining United. He could’ve won loads at Barcelona, Real, Juve, Bayern, anywhere but he forever damaged his relationship with Arsenal fans by opting for United. Around a decade developing at Arsenal, support both ways through trying times, then one successful season at United and that’s it, pretty much career over.
Nah mate
When a club or fans don’t rate a player and the player wants to stay , club and fans will equally show zero loyalty
He had to move , was too good not to win a Prem
And after certain sick songs at the Emirates, I don’t think he owed all of those fans loyalty
Yeah, Ox was too good not to win a Prem
Those sick songs were sung by Man Utd fans and the rest of the league before he moved referencing the allegations.
Just like the sick song sung about Adebayor was invented by Spurs fans and he then moved to Spurs despite that.
The song nonsense is just that nonsense.
That doesn’t mean you can’t argue the songs are in bad taste but the players clearly don’t care that much to let it change their transfer decisions. Meaning it probably isn’t that deep in the 1st place with all the issues in the world.
There are many reasons why van persie is known as “JUDAS” Liam and I suggest you go back and read what he said, how he acted and what he did to get the move he wanted.
Let me give you two statements he made that were reported in The Guardian on the 13th of April 2009:
1. The Dutch striker was happy that the club’s ambitions matched his own.
2. All the signs over a new contract are positive.
Also bear in mind, that he kept the club in limbo for over a season, while promising he would sign a new contract.
Then read what AW had to say about it and how he believed united had tapped him up.
He, of course, listened to the little boy inside him, when he informed the club that he wasn’t going to sign a new contract and said he wanted to move to manure, one of our top four rivals at the time.
Once he left the club, he began to diss the club, it’s players, manager and ambitions – including the “famous” seven points he put to Ivan Gazidis that would improve the club – points that, he said, Gazidis ignored point blank.
A little history on this person as well – our fans are quick to cite other players, past and current, who had/have long injury problems, but this guy took the biscuit.
He only played in one season, where he was fully fit and that was his final season.
He also joined the club, with a lot of legal baggage, but the club stood by him through all his troubles, as one would expect…. he returned that support by doing all the above.
So “this is why and how Judas left the Emirates for manure” Liam and it would have been a more structured article, if you had not taken the players word alone, but looked into what else happened.
This person most certainly earned the nickname that he was branded with and he cost manure much more than the reported transfer fee, especially as his injury record played a part in his time there.
You are 100% right on this. Club was correct to be cautious on his new contract offer as he had 1 season where he was fit. 1 golden boot didn’t make him eligible to come out with 7 points and force the club to accept.
Well, it’s a comprehensive argument but people say and do different things all the time – inside and outside of football. It’s infuriating (to put it mildly) at the time, but there it is.
I don’t “hate” RVP because of what happened. To be perfectly honest I don’t think about him until articles like this appear once in a blue moon. Then he and his “misdeeds”, or whatever, fade away again.
I must admit though that your reference to “what AW had to say about it and how he believed united had tapped him up” did make me smile as if, Heaven forbid, Arsenal has never, ever, tapped up a player or been involved in any other sleight of hand. Hmmm.
Anyone who supports V. Persie on this one shows a lot of their character. Enough said.
Thank you lol
👍Ken
Oh so because they sung in it’s okay for some Arsenal fans to sing in then at same time ask for loyalty and respect ?
Stop Ken, you’re bringing back too many terrible memories even if you are correct. Van Persie has always seemed to be in an alternate reality.
I tend to side with Van Persie on this. He pretty much brought us a top four finish with his goals and captaincy after the disaster at Old Trafford and the panicky arrival of the “five amigos”. At the end of that season it was clear that the arrival of Podolski and Giroud wasn’t going to change anything. In the long term had he stayed on he may have enjoyed playing with the likes of Santi, Ozil and Sanchez, but who was to know. In Van Persie s mind the key issue would have been, ‘Im not getting any younger and how much lower can this club sink”. Selfish I know but why aren’t the same judgemental criteria applied to other club favorites such as Viera, Henry and Fabergras.
Those players you mentioned gave Arsenal their best. VP played 1 season when we had to hold our breath anytime he fell down in pain and decided it was best to join Man Utd. This fella cost us the prem in 08. Eduardo was out and Adebayo out of form and where is our “prolific” striker? Injured since Oct. Please!
I don’t have any hatred for Robin. Actually I don’t have hatred for anyone. But I can understand why people are unhappy about what he did.
But he did help us a little bit
Helped us win the FA Cup
Scored over 130 goals for us
In 2011-2012 he scored 30 PL goals from 38 appearences
Yeah Steph
In his last season never did we owe more to one player then him
He almost single handedly took a poor team into the top 4
I think he simply saw our best players leave and didn’t think we had ambition to be champions……which over a decade later he’s been correct with sadly
He was injured for almost the entirety of his Arsenal career. Only one full season of fitness and a golden boot later, the club which kept on treating him all through his injuries ans showing patience because of hope whe would overcome them for years suddenly had no ambition as far he was concerned and he became a football expert to demand 7 changes in the running of the club which however you may see it, had shown loyalty to keep him around for years of injuries. What should Henry have demanded then?
And even though he had to leave, why smite the club with words? It’s indefensible
This whole idea of the club losing or all of a sudden not having “ambition” is the biggest load of bull narrative. Yeah, as if we no longer wanted to win titles like every other club.
True, but it’s the actions, or inactions, by the club to achieve that which are up for scrutiny, I think.
Did the Arsenal board show sufficient rigour and commitment in pursuing the ambition to win titles (at that time)? Presumably RVP thought that Utd showed more.
Scrutinizing actions or inactions is a whole different matter. I’m sure that the decision makers at the club were hopeful that their rigour and commitment were sufficient to do as well as they could (including winning titles) to make the most profit.
Only hindsight can be 20/20 and using terms such as ambition, desire, etc. simply makes it easier to shortcut the real reasons for the results. As far as Van Persie is concerned I know it wouldn’t go over very well if I made it known to my boss that I knew more about the operation of the company than he does. That would be fine but I wouldn’t blame the company if the door hit me in the butt.
Walcott basically expressed that was the case in his recent interview – top 4 was the trophy. Sure, they’d have liked to have won the title, but realistically they’d accepted they weren’t going to and top 4 was good enough. They were hoping for a miracle, but most weren’t that bothered really.
They sold Fabregas and Nasri ( to a title rival) and replaced them with Arteta and Beayoun on loan
And cashed the money
That’s not ambition
Yeah. I agree with you unlike Dan. We could have cancelled his contract during those bleak years and he would faded off like that. There are better players injuries ruined their carrers this way.
To cancel a players contract there has to a serious breech/ breeches of club rules. Being injured isn’t against any clubs rules.
What was so bad what he said ?
Also remember what some fans would sing ?
I don’t blame, let alone hate (which is pretty daft when you think about it really) RVP for going.
These are professional footballers after all (the key here is the word “professional”). They offer their services for money and if their current club isn’t prepared to offer improved terms, and/or they just feel they can do better elsewhere, they’re perfectly entitled to look to pastures new.
With RVP it can hardly be a matter of loyalty having been at Arsenal for almost ten years with not a lot to show for it.
Players at the top level want trophies in the cabinet (in addition to a bulging wage packet) and they’ll often eventually move to get them, or at least try to. Sometimes it works out, other times not. That’s life.
People going on about the amount of time he was injured. Do you honestly think any player wants to spend more time out injured than on the pitch ? Of course they don’t.
No HD, but the club would have expected loyalty after looking after him through his otherwise injury hit career,just as the fanbase expected it from him One full season and he was off.
I’ve read time and time again, how we should have got rid of the likes of Diaby, Cazorla, Partey, Tierney, Tomiyasu, Wilshere etc etc because of their injuries, but somehow, this person gets a free pass with his history, tries to tell the club what they need to do and demands that they let him leave for united, after stalling the club for over a season with a promise to sign a new contract.
I don’t care if he won a PL medal with manure – what I care about was the way he treated the club, the fans and his fellow players.
My only piece of satisfaction, is that Fergie let him down by leaving, he cost manure an absolute fortune for his one full season there and his injuries kept recurring again and again.
It couldn’t have happened to a more unfaithful, selfish, self centred, egotistical person than him and Judas is the perfect word to describe him.
I didn’t say The Arsenal have never tapped up a player, we obviously have, but it was one of the reasons AW explained the ongoing reluctance to sign a new contract.
Careers are short Ken. He wanted to win the PL and realised it wasn’t going to happen with us. At least he played for us right up until he left, unlike that 🐀 Fabregas.
We could’ve sold him to Juventus, but they only offered something like £12m which Wenger turned down. Utd thought they had a deal to sign him for £20m, but Wenger took over the negotiations and a deal was done for £22m with an extra £2m if Utd won the PL. Fergie said at the time that he wouldn’t like to play poker with Wenger.
Btw, I’ve never said anything about Wenger tapping up players.
HD, the tapping up message was to Bertie following his post above.
I still don’t get why he gets a pass, despite his long list of injuries, while the others I mentioned, plus Eduardo who I left out, were targeted for their time out due to their injuries.
Ken, I wasn’t on JA when those players were getting stick for being injured, but on social media the only one I saw getting stick was Diaby. I couldn’t understand why we signed him, as at Auxerre he could only play a handful of games each season because the rest of the time he was out injured.
His potential HD – I thought he was going to be the perfect replacement for the incredible player and captain Patrick Vieria.
His style of play was so reminiscent of PV in my view.
I can assure you that every one of the players I named, were named as those who the club should have cut their losses on… yet, as I say, dear old JUDAS is praised for his one full season and lauded for his decision to turn his back on our club.
The only thing that has ever tempered my view of RVP is Fabregas’ recent revelations on his opinion of that dressing room and why he left for Barcelona. Always subscribed to the view Wenger was unlucky he lost that good core at that time but it seems if you take Fabregas at face value Wenger refused to address the bad apples and the good players said no thank you.
Angus, why do you think Arsene didn’t want to address the “bad apples?”
The awkward truth is we lost 8-2 to Man Utd and our season was looking over then Arteta came in, was made captain, and whipped everyone into shape with some standards for a while (he locked everyone in the dressing room after a bad performance and the players considered him a 2nd manager after Wenger all the while Just Arsenal was full of threads about how he wasn’t real captain material) and once he left for CIty we never finished in the top 4 again until he took us there as manager. It is awkward for a lot of people but it is true.
Also took us out of Europe for first time in 25 years !
No one is disputing Arteta helped us that season
So did Vanpersie – player of the year I think that season.
Again Angus, take a look at the players who were out injured at the time of the 8-2 humiliation and how AW reacted by bringing in MA after that result.