As you might have guesses, plenty of Arsenal fans aren’t very happy with the news of Robin van Persie deciding not to renew his contract with the club, meaning he’ll be gone by next summer, but probably sooner than that. Out of all the rant videos to be watches on youtube, FIFA 12 extraordinaire KSIOlajidebt gave the best performance.
His punishment to Van Persie? Discarding his FIFA 12 Van Persie cards, which is quite a severe course of action if you ask me. But in general, like all Arsenal fans, or any football fans in the same position, he feels betrayed. Van Persie was always a missed potential, going through injuries and other problems while Arsene Wenger remained patient with him, eventually getting the best out of him.
But Van Persie needed only one good year to decide he’s had enough. One remarkable 2011 that propelled him into the stratosphere of football stars, just below Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Like the kid on the video pointed out, Van Persie might be a great player, but he’s not Messi or Ronaldo.
And I think his reasoning for leaving, saying it’s not a money thing but a titles thing, is what hurt the most to many Arsenal fans. Van Persie basically declared that there’s no way he’ll win major titles, being the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, as long as he stays with Arsenal, under the current Arsene Wenger management. He’ll probably earn more somewhere else as well, despite the whole financial re-structuring done at the Emirates in order to make this team a more lucrative destination for stars.
Arsenal haven’t won anything in quite some time, but they’re not in that a terrible of a state. They are a perennial champions league team, which is always the foundation for further success these days. The vision of Wenger and his way of doing things might not mesh with Van Persie’s ambitions, but somewhere down the line, Arsenal will win a trophy. Maybe sooner rather than later, but it is hard when every high quality player feels he’s on a second-rate club.
Just like Cesc Fabregas, who evolved under Wenger into one of the best midfielder in the world before he returned to Barcelona, Van Persie is turning back on the club that gave him the chance and time to become one of the best strikers in the world, if these last 18 months were an indication of things to come and not just a rare occurrence.