Arsenal Transfer News: Deadline Set for Robin Van Persie Transfer

The Robin van Persie saga—part 136.

After confirming that the club will sell Van Persie over the summer transfer window for the right transfer fee, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has set a deadline over any transfer.

The Gunners' manager stated that, for any more to take place, it must be done prior to the commencement of the English Premier League season, according to Goal.

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"We are very, very ambitious—you know that. Not only ambitious but also very proud of the way we run our club.

"Van Persie is a world-class striker and I am a big supporter of him. I have supported him throughout.

"He has one year left and and is in demand but our desire is to keep him, however, we will do what is in the best interest of the club. If you have a decoder in your head, decode that.

"The official transfer deadline is August 31, but then we can create an internal deadline... I believe the transfer market should stop before the season starts anyway."

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The 62-year-old Wenger also hit back at claims that any move away from the club by Van Persie would destabilize the Gunners, and would leave them helpless for next season. He stated that the situation was not like the one last season, which saw the sale of then-captain Cesc Fabregas. The club is much stronger than it was this time last year.

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"The situation is not the same as last season because we have a squad that is solid and used to playing together. We have bought two strikers in Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski.

"The seriousness of last year's situation was made difficult for us by injuries, not only through the transfer market. We will see. We sort these situations out always in the best interests of the club..."

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Robin van Persie is without doubt the hottest name over the summer transfer window with Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus all trying to land the star striker for next season. All three clubs have yet to present an offer to entice Arsenal into selling their frontman, with all three having different aspects helping and hindering their cause.

Manchester City are an obvious inclusion into the Van Persie saga because of their financial position. Simply put, they can put together an offer for the Dutch international far above what Manchester United and Juventus can.

The downside is that the Citizens will likely have to sell either Edin Dzeko or Carlos Tevez to make way for Van Persie, who could be deterred by the plethora of attacking options that Robert Mancini already has at his disposal.

Manchester United are, for me, the next likely to land Van Persie after the Red Devils' boss Sir Alex Ferguson broke protocol to announce they are interested in the striker and had had a bid for him rejected by Arsenal.

United can offer the same transfer fee that City can—if they really wanted to—though it is unlikely that they would be able to meet the per-week offer of the Citizens. 

They too would need to rework their team, and the inclusion of Van Persie could well see the departure of Danny Welbeck or Javier Hernandez from the club—both unlikely to feature in the Red Devils starting side, should Van Persie arrive.

And then, there is the Italian champions Juventus, who are interested in landing the striker for the upcoming season. Juventus have their well-known financial problems, given their match-fixing history, and may well be unable to match the likes of City and United.

They do, however, offer the opportunity for Van Persie to move away from the English Premier League and escape the criticism and harassment that would no doubt hound him, should he remain in the country. It is also unlikely that he would have to play Arsenal during the season as well.

Having said all of that, no club will secure Van Persie unless they receive a $30 million offer for the striker—a figure substantially more than what has reportedly been offered so far by the three clubs. The firm stance by the London club could well see Roberto Mancini's men become the new favorites to land the striker.

But, with United still confident that they will land Van Persie for the upcoming season, this one looks set to continue for longer still.

Will Arsenal just sell Van Persie and move on? Or are they better served by holding out for the $30 million asking price and letting the potential suitors come to them?

The answers for now, still remain unknown.

Where will Robin van Persie end up this summer?

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