Arsenal FC: How Robin Van Persie's Club Future Depends on His Euro Performance

Arsenal fans are worried this summer. Just as they were last summer, and the summer before that. But this year it's different. It's not Cesc Fabregas on the minds of Arsenal faithfuls, but rather Robin van Persie, one of the hottest names in this summer's transfer window.

And that's the problem.

The way people are throwing the Dutch star's name around all over the place is making Gooners nervous, making Gooners cross their fingers for ever so long, making them hate every little bit of this summer.

Yes, Robin van Persie is being linked away from the Emirates left and right, and with so many open possibilities, the next thing you know, he could be rumored to the national soccer league of Papua New Guinea.

Even during the summer, when the European Championships are supposed to be on the spotlight, a potential van Persie departure is never far from my thoughts.

Maybe that is because van Persie is one of the players on the main stage of the Euros this year: being a big player for a team considered to be a favorite cannot really hide you from the eyes of millions of viewers around the world.

The Holland-Denmark match didn't show the man who won the PFA and FWA Awards this year, or the man who won the Premier League Golden Boot. Instead, it put on display a struggling Dutchman whose talent was masked by something: either nerves or just an off day.

Every time the ball rolled to the feet of number 16, I prayed to the Football God. I prayed that he would redeem himself with a bit of "RVP-Magic". I prayed that my non-Gooner mates wouldn't humiliate me with snide remarks about my idol. I prayed that the captain of my beloved Arsenal would not be embarrassed in front of the entire world. 

But I apparently wasn't praying loudly enough.

One of the worst games of van Persie's career made me wince at every little thought of the match, even though I'm not a Holland fan. But then thinking about it, I realized that maybe it wasn't the end of the world.

Maybe a bad performance on a huge stage would discourage van Persie's suitors, and persuade them into thinking that van Persie isn't a player worth millions and millions of pounds. If current conventional wisdom is in fact true, giants such as Manchester City and Juventus are lining up big bucks to entice the Flying Dutchman.

Despite the loose spending of Roberto Mancini's title-winning side, a bad showing in Poland and Ukraine could possibly convince these teams that RVP is not a clutch, overcome-the-pressure sort of player: this would mean not having to say goodbye to the captain this season.

This is if he misfires at the Euros. But let's look at the flip-side.

For argument's sake let's say he tucks the bad game into the back of his mind, and starts playing like the Robin van Persie that we know. If he can do just that, the probability of attracting many teams will increase, as more teams will take him more seriously, and his price would undoubtedly shoot through the roof.

If the Daily Post is right, then £25million is the current region of van Persie's price-tag (though that seems awfully cheap to me). A great performance at this huge tournament would likely mean an extra £5-10 million pounds -- if not more -- money that could be used to sign players to replace him.

For me, keeping him would be much more important than to tack on a few extra million pounds to his transfer fee, but I've talked to several Arsenal fans who would prefer the money. I just don't want him to be the flop of the tournament! 

When you look at the benefits for the club, these are the two possibilities: either Wenger retains his captain or he gets some extra cash.

But if you are a passionate Arsenal fan, you will think of the man himself and hope he succeeds.