Van Persie gone, Song to follow?

The summer was going nicely. Arsenal had Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud in the bag before Robin Van Persie released his statement on his website stating his desire to leave the Emirates this summer. Arsenal then added Santi Cazorla from Malaga before yesterday they broke the news that they had agreed to sell Van Persie to Manchester United for a fee of £24m. With just a few days left until the beginning of the season, the news could be disruptive to those in the Arsenal camp. Theo Walcott’s future is undecided with just a year remaining on his deal at the club. Alex Song is being linked with a move to Barcelona. The annual selling your best players window has begun at Arsenal… in mid August. Just like last year.

Arsenal have already added quality to their squad. Van Persie was always going to leave after he released that statement. It is unfortunate that he is going to Manchester United though, a direct rival. The BBC have suggested that Wenger was the one who told Van Persie he was going. After Arsenal’s impressive additions of Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla the BBC suggested that Van Persie was only interested in two things. One was joining Manchester United, the other was staying at Arsenal. Manchester City’s riches didn’t interest the Dutchman, neither did joining Juventus. However, Wenger was reportedly furious with Van Persie’s statement and after bringing in two strikers this summer, he told him before Sunday’s game against Cologne that he didn’t figure in Wenger’s plans for the new season. Make of that what you will.

Alex Song is another player that could well be exiting the Emirates this summer now. Wenger is believed to be disappointed in Song’s attitude since being linked with a move to Barcelona. These are just rumours on the internet, so I am unsure as to how true they are. The BBC are a good source for information, so with them reporting that Wenger told Van Persie to leave, it is more believable. As for the Song story, I couldn’t tell you. It does however, appear likely that he will leave if Barcelona can meet Arsenal’s demands.

The one thing that is concerning is how many key players leave now. 4 out of Wenger’s captains at Arsenal have been sold whilst wearing the armband. Patrick Vieira joined Juventus in 2005, Thierry Henry moved to Barcelona two years after replacing Vieira as skipper. Cesc Fabregas was the next one to be sold after under 3 years of captaincy. Robin Van Persie is the next to follow having been captain for just one year. The only two that didn’t get sold were of course, Mr. Arsenal (Tony Adams) and William Gallas. Gallas was stripped of captaincy in 2008, but stayed until 2010. However, after failing to agree a new deal at Arsenal, Gallas joined Tottenham on a free transfer, making him just as bad as any of the others. Plus of course, he was stripped for a reason and also threw a hissy fit at Birmingham the day Eduardo got injured, so I’d make a case for Gallas being Wenger’s worst captain of the lot. Whatever we say though, this tradition of our captains being sold nearly every year now has lead to Arsenal being labelled a selling club. And if you sell your 2nd best or other good players along with him, you really can’t argue with it. Nasri and Fabregas last year, Van Persie and probably Song too this year. It needs to stop. It’s a big problem. With other contracts winding down, it just appears to me as though it won’t end any time soon. If Arsenal keep letting players go into either their last year of their contract or even with 2 years left now, Arsenal will be likely to sell. The player simply waits until he has one year left and says “if you don’t sell me this summer, I will walk away for free next year”. The ones that do stay in their final year often go too. Go back to 2005 when Edu left or 2008 when Flamini went on a free. Players have all the power here.

Arsenal need to reinvest in their squad. Good signings so far, but this departure and potentially Song’s departure lead to holes in the squad again. If Arsenal don’t reinvest before the end of the transfer window, Arsenal fans will question the manager and the board yet again. It’s only natural to question the ambition if you sell your best players every summer. Whilst there are good players that have come in, with two key departures imminent, there is a growing concern that this will keep going on. If Arsenal go trophyless next season for the 8th straight year, who will it be that steps up and scores the goals this year, or puts in the best performances?. We’ll probably find out next year when we sell them to Manchester City for £20m.