Arsenal Transfer Rumors: Gunners Wrong to Keep Robin Van Persie

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie has made clear his intent not to return to the Gunners once his contract expires, and the club would be wrong to keep him through this season.

As van Persie himself posted on his official website in early July, he is far apart from manager Arsense Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis in terms of the direction of the Gunners' future.

In spite of the clear position van Persie has taken, Arsenal refuses to shop him this summer, according to a report by Wayne Veysey of Goal.com.

Of course, it's impossible to determine how the 28-year-old striker will perform this season. However, the last thing Wenger would like to deal with is a disgruntled superstar who would rather be someplace else.

It makes no sense for the Gunners to keep an unhappy player for one more year only to let him walk away the following summer on a free transfer.

Some serious cash could be made for the rights to van Persie right now.

As The Independent points out, the Gunners have already fortified their front line with offensive weapons. French striker Giroud and Germany's Lukas Podolski will pack some goal-scoring punch this coming season.

The aggressive moves haven't stopped. According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal has reportedly bid £9 million on 23-year-old Paulinho, a crafty midfielder and a position of need for the squad.

Arsenal should also look at Clint Dempsey, per Bleacher Report's Liam Brod. The winger is fresh off a career year for Fulham, where he scored 17 goals.

Other clubs would likely sacrifice a hefty transfer fee to land van Persie, and Arsenal could use the cash obtained by such a transaction to go after other prized footballers.

It is unclear whether this summer's multiple acquisitions to date are part of an effort to keep van Persie beyond his contract by surrounding him with supreme talent. Not a bad potential strategy, but van Persie seems pretty steadfast in his decision to leave once his contract expires.

Thus, the influx of offensive talent—especially if the team can land Dempsey—should be enough to withstand a departure of van Persie's caliber.

The argument for keeping the captain is that, with a loaded team this season, Arsenal could compete for trophies. Winning trophies is, after all, the No. 1 objective for van Persie wherever he chooses to land.

Financial incentives won't motivate him to stay. According to the aforementioned statement he released, that is not his priority at all due to management's vision for the club moving forward. Perhaps winning alone will suffice, though.

If the Gunners can improve enough and make a significant run at the UEFA Champions League tournament this coming season, perhaps van Persie ultimately decides to hang around for another contract.

Considering how far apart the two sides are now, though, it appears the club's leadership is desperately making moves to see if it can change van Persie's mind. But the right move is for Arsenal to cut their losses with van Persie and pool the hopefully lucrative transfer fee into assets to benefit the present and the future of the club.