Arsenal Transfer Rumors: Robin Van Persie Gives Gunners Time to Be Aggressive

If Arsenal wants to keep Robin van Persie long-term, Arsene Wenger will have to prove his dedication to winning. Luckily for Wenger, RVP is reportedly giving him plenty of time to do that. 

The speculation (pure speculation—take it with a grain of salt) comes from the Mirror's Steve Stammers:

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The vibe coming out of Arsenal suggests that Robin van Persie, linked with Manchester City, United and a host of others, will start the season as a fully-committed Arsenal player.

Whether that is the case in August 2013 remains to be seen. And it also depends on whether Arsenal are showing the ambitions that match his own.

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If this turns out to be true, and RVP plans on starting the season at Arsenal, that gives the Gunners management a good three months to continue to improve the squad.

Wenger needs to take full advantage of that time. 

He can't wait around and hope this squad proves his worth once the season starts. He must be aggressive and show van Persie he wants to win.

Wenger has already made one signing official with Lukas Podolski, and he's come close with a few others, such as Yann M'Vila and Jan Vertonghen.

That's a great start, but with this extra time van Persie has supplied, he needs to keep it up. Arsenal could still use some help on the back line, but more importantly, it needs to continue to add depth throughout the whole team.

The Gunners are good, but they aren't elite.

And for RVP, who was the best goal-scorer in the world not named Messi or Ronaldo this past season, elite is almost becoming a priority. He can go anywhere he wants. At this point in his career, the only thing he has left to do is to help bring home titles.

Whether those titles come from the EPL or the Champions League, van Persie wants hardware.

If Wegner sits on his rump and deems the current squad "good enough," it's hard to imagine van Persie getting on board with that long term.

Again, the problem here isn't Arsenal. Van Persie loves the surrounding area, loves the fans and has allegiance to the club. But if the club doesn't prove it's interested in winning, van Persie will take his talents elsewhere.