Van Persie set to hold talks on future today

Robin Van Persie is set to report back for training at Arsenal today following his summer break. The Dutchman has made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want to sign a new deal at the club and is therefore asking Arsenal to cash in on him now.

With the Gunners due in the Far East for their pre-season tour, Arsenal may have to take Van Persie on tour with them again. Last year, Arsenal were in a similar situation with Samir Nasri, who went on Arsenal’s tour last year and even played in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in August, before his transfer to Man City was completed later that month.

Whether Arsenal still believe they can persuade him to stay or not, I don’t know. Personally I just can’t see the point of keeping him for a year and losing him for nothing next summer. I don’t believe he wants to stay at all, which would lead to a demotivated player and captain too. Think back to when Cesc Fabregas was in his final season, those last few months of the 2010/11 season, after Arsenal lost the League Cup Final to Birmingham and needed a true captain to step up and pick things up, Cesc didn’t even want to play for the club. You’d have thought Arsenal would have learnt their lessons from letting players run to their final year of their deals, but clearly not. This mess could still be well, a mess, come the start of the season. I don’t want it to be, but I fear it will.