Why the Robin van Persie transfer really stings as an Arsenal fan

One of the most protracted transfer sagas has finally come to an end with Robin van Persie moving to Manchester United. An end that has left a bitter taste in the mouth of most Arsenal fans. An end that has left a bitter taste in mine as well.

If you’re going through comments on various football sites and forums, there’s a striking pattern on the types of comments you’ll see from arsenal fans. Broadly, a majority of them will fit into one or more of the following categories:

1. Good business by Arsenal for a 29 year old, very injury prone striker with one year to go on his contract. He will never reach the heights of last season. He was only really good for a season and a half anyway, so United got ripped off.

2. He was the main man at Arsenal. The team was built around him. Look at how he suffered at the Euros where he wasn’t the main man. He won’t get that at United.

3. Judas. He’s moving for money. He has no sense of loyalty, etc. His quote on listening to the “little boy inside him” is just lies. He was an Arsenal fan as a kid.

These are opinions, of course. They can’t be held as right or wrong. I would, however, say these are more knee-jerk reactions to a move that undoubtedly hurt every single Arsenal fan. I’ve considered each of these points individually.

1. “Good business by Arsenal for a 29 year old, very injury prone striker with one year to go on his contract. He was only really good for a season and a half anyway, so United got ripped off.”

This was my personal reaction when I first heard the news. Now that I’m a little less angry, I realize just how ridiculous this statement really is. For starters, RvP was 28 just a couple of weeks ago. The “29 year old” tag, while true, smacks of distorted opportunism to me. It is well accepted that strikers are usually in their peaks around their late twenties and early thirties. At the “grand-old-age” of 29, RvP is at the height of his talent and can potentially be better than last season.

Also, you don’t score 132 goals for a club in ‘one and a half good seasons’. Well, not impossible if your name is Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo maybe, but you get my point. The talent was always there. He was always good. He’s just been better and fitter recently.

His injury-prone tag should be undoubted to some extent, but I wonder how relevant that is in the context of the recent past. His track record is one of spending a large amount of time on the treatment table. However, you cannot ignore the fact that since some way into the 2010-2011 season, he has been ever-present. Playing all 38 league games in a Premier League season is a testament to his current level of fitness. It isn’t a small feat. If he was as brittle as some people are making him out to be, there is no possible way he could achieve that. You cannot put it down to luck. Sir Alex knows just this.

The only part I’m going to agree with, is the fact that 24 million Pounds is great business for a world-class striker in the last year of his contract. United have not been ripped off. They’ve coughed up for a striker proven to score 30 goals a season in the league they’re competing for. Paying us good money for him, doesn’t automatically mean they won’t get value on their investment.

2. “He was the main man at Arsenal. The team was built around him. Look at how he suffered at the Euros where he wasn’t the main man. He won’t get that at United.”

Again, I feel this is another argument that stems more from bitterness. There is no doubt a pattern here that is worth examining, but giving things a little more thought might be worthwhile. I’m not denying the first part about the team being built around him at Arsenal. This was clear for all to see. I also don’t disagree with the assessment of his Euro 2012 performance. I don’t see this as a reason to suggest he won’t do well at United, though.

Players like Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder aren’t the most team-oriented players on the planet. As big stars in their respective teams, they probably think there’s no reason they should go against their natural tendencies and change for the national team. Also, the Dutch camp isn’t the most harmonious of places to be in at any point. RvP was left open with space, but the ball was not at his feet many times. Other times, he was forced to drop deeper to get some part of the action. Undoubtely, a fish out of his water when he wasn’t the focal point. But why would you think this is what would happen at United?

With all due respect to Bert van Marwijk, he is no Sir Alex. Big egos at Old Trafford are treated in only one way – being pointed to the exit. A supposedly ‘poor’ United squad last season pushed a team of relative superstars in Man City to the very limit. That’s teamwork. That’s players opting to pass rather than shoot (at least most of the time). Robin is that sort of player. Any illusions of him being the ‘main man’ at United would have been quashed by Sir Alex the very first time they spoke. RvP knows what he’s getting into and Sir Alex will know how to get the best out of him.

3. “Judas. He’s moving for money. He has no sense of loyalty, etc. His quote on listening to the “little boy inside him” is just lies. He was an Arsenal fan as a kid.”

First of all, Arsenal were prepared to offer him a bumper contract. I doubt 20k more per week would be enough motivation for someone in his position.

At face value, I can see why some of his other comments would have infuriated us Arsenal fans. We all know the picture of him in his room as a teenager with the old Arsenal kit on. His statement about “listening to the little boy inside” him comes across as a blatant lie. Personally, I feel this is just about taking his words literally.

Do you really think he’s trying to hide his past by making a statement like that? He’s a smart man. Put yourself in the shoes of a young striker with dreams for professional football. You want to play for your favorite team, and you want to win lots of trophies. He managed the first part for 8 years, and the second has eluded him.

As Arsenal fans, we of all people should realize that players and life-long fans are rarely the same people. If he decides he’s spent enough time with a club he looked up to as a kid, who are we to hold that against him? Liking us as a kid isn’t a lifelong sentence to servitude for Arsenal Football Club. Players who stay at the club out of pure love, in spite of all adversities, are few and far between. We shouldn’t hold that expectation on every great player at our club. It’s unnatural to expect that. Robin, clearly, is a player who loved the club as a kid and enjoyed playing. That’s as far as his emotional attachment to the club goes. The fact that he can turn his back on the manager that pulled him through some very difficult times is only testament to how the real world works. We shouldn’t be surprised.

The most disturbing part of all of this, for us as Arsenal fans, is that in spite of all that’s happened he feels we aren’t good enough to challenge for top honours. This, is what I feel is the real reason for all the bitterness and hurt.

We’ve been incredibly optimistic with the signings of Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla. We’ve all seen it as a huge step forward towards the clubs above us. This is exactly why our best player leaving for the team that placed one position above us last season is a kick in the teeth. It sows some seeds of doubt. It makes us wonder if we really have moved that far ahead from where we were.

The last seven years have been agonizing. From being United’s biggest title rivals, we’ve dropped to being perennial also-rans. A team that is always in transition. For all of us who gloat at the Spurs’ fans that one of their best players in Sol Campbell decided to join us, this one hurts. We point to the Campbell move as a defining statement of our clear superiority as a team. Now, we see our best player leaving for what we consider a very close rival. The question creeps to mind – have we really dropped that far?

I’m not saying we have indeed dropped that low. I’m not saying RvP is right and we are no closer to being challengers. In fact, I believe the exact opposite. I am very optimistic with our new additions.

Mine, however, is just an opinion. Robin’s, as well, is just his opinion and one he is entitled to. We aren’t right or wrong until the end of the season. I understand that this transfer has been a kick in the teeth for most of us Gooners, but I think we should accept one fact very simply – We believe we’ve shown ambition and are closer to challenging. Robin disagrees. Let’s respect that difference and set our sights on proving ourselves right.