Robin Van Persie: Talented Striker Shouldn't Be Part of Arsenal's Preseason Tour

Robin van Persie isn't worth the hassle at this point for Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal squad. He's one of the most talented strikers in Europe, but the Gunners would be better off without him on their preseason tour through Asia.

Instead, according to People's Tom Hopkinson, the Gunners intend to make Van Persie a part of the team during this time:

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Arsene Wenger will order Robin van Persie to travel on Arsenal's pre-season tour to Asia unless the Gunners have received a concrete offer for him by then.

Manchester City and Juventus both covet the want-away striker but unless they stump up the cash he will be on the plane to Kuala Lumpur next weekend - whether he likes it or not.

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The last six words of that quote are key. Van Persie could be a cancerous cyst on the Gunners squad. We don't even know if his teammates want to play with him. Would you want to? He announced his intentions to leave Arsenal in a classy way, but the fact is he's leaving. Teammates may not respond well to that.

The Gunners have other reasons to consider leaving Van Persie behind for this stretch. They brought in Olivier Giroud from Montpellier to ideally replace Van Persie at the top of their attack. We don't know if he can do that yet, but wouldn't you rather find out now?

Arsenal could get an offer by the time the tour rolls around. This could be a moot point, but if the situation doesn't change they can't bring him along for the ride.

It doesn't send a good message to Giroud, and it doesn't add anything to their chemistry. They have to assume that Van Persie was being sincere with his intent to leave.

Arsenal could say that the preseason tour is their last chance at convincing Van Persie to stay on board, but it's hard to justify at this point. Wenger has added key pieces to their attack, and they will be ready to compete in the English Premier League with or without Van Persie on the prowl.

It's hard to imagine letting Van Persie go without a fight, and they could still consider paying him what he wants, but at this point they need to let him know that he isn't bigger than the team. The rest of the team needs to work together, assuming that Van Persie's intentions are true.

Arsenal will get a sufficient offer at some point. Van Persie is too talented to get passed up for too long, and money isn't a hangup for the world's high-budget sides.

Eventually he will be gone.

Bringing him on a preseason tour is senseless and counterproductive. If he wants to leave Arsenal, let him.