It wasn’t the best of summers for Robin van Persie, losing all the matches with the Netherlands in Euro 2012. But knowing he’s got a vast selections of big clubs to chase him from the moment he left the tournament. Where, we don’t know. But we do know he doesn’t want to be an Arsenal player much longer.

In all honesty, it was quite obvious. Arsenal may be one of the biggest clubs in England, but they just don’t have the attracting power the real European giants have, or teams with a lot of money, like Manchester City. The question was always going to be whether Arsene Wenger convinces Van Persie to extend his contract before it runs out in 2013. Apparently, like his failures with Fabregas and Nasri one year ago, Wenger couldn’t convince his best player.

And so, the chase for Van Persie begins, while Wenger will try and keep his team from having another summer falling apart as he acts too slowly, which led to a disastrous start in the league. The Dutchman, who one every possible individual award last season while finishing on top of the scoring charts with 30 league goals, said it wasn’t about the money, it was about the directions and ambitions of the club.

I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days. Out of my huge respect for Mr Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal should move forward.

In short, from the initial Van Persie reaction, without really knowing what went down in that meeting but getting a little hint from the kind of players Arsenal are signing, Van Persie doesn’t want to playing for a team with himself as its biggest star. Maybe he likes being the star, but I think he realized over the season and in the tournament with the Netherlands, that there are better clubs to play for, better places to be in.

Before the tournament began it looked like Manchester City and Juventus were the clubs doing most of the digging and probing in regard to Van Persie’s situation. Barcelona and Real Madrid are also names people like to throw around. What is certain, whether Van Persie does play for Arsenal in 2012-2013 or not, is that the Gunners have been making moves just in case RVP did decide to bolt. Signing Podolski and Giroud may not indicate the highest of ambitions, but it does show Wenger was ready for Van Persie’s announcement.