Arsenal Transfer News: How Loss of Robin Van Persie Will Affect Gunners

The Robin van Persie transfer saga is over: Arsenal will sell the talented striker to Manchester United.

The transfer was confirmed by Arsenal’s website, and David Hynter of The Guardian reported that the deal was worth £23 million. 

The Gunners are losing their top scorer and most valuable player from a season ago. Van Persie led the English Premier League with 30 goals and also recorded nine assists this past season. He accounted for 52.7 percent of his team’s goals.

The entire offense was focused around the Dutchman, and he delivered high-quality performances on a consistent basis. He was lethal in the box and regularly scored goals that left spectators with their mouths hanging open.

While it seems like Arsenal has lost its mind by letting go of a player who meant so much to the squad, the team will not be severely affected. In addition, receiving more than £20 million for a 29-year-old player is an excellent business decision.

This day has been imminent all summer, and Arsene Wenger has been preparing for RVP’s departure by adding other talented attackers. 

Olivier Giroud is a true striker who can fill van Persie’s role up top. He is not the same caliber as the former Arsenal skipper, but Wenger also added Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski during the transfer window. 

These players are talented wingers, and they will join Theo Walcott, Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the flanks. The Gunners will not have to rely so heavily on their center-forward in this coming campaign. 

Wenger showed excellent foresight in signing these players. His ability to keep so much talent on the roster has allowed Arsenal to remain competitive even when other clubs pay large sums for the team’s top talents. 

The French manager has never allowed the Gunners to finish outside the top four, even after early-season panics from supporters when key players like Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri were shipped out, despite having productive seasons left in their careers.

This move may leave some fans frustrated, as it will be difficult for the Gunners to seriously compete for the EPL title or make a deep run in the Champions League without their best player from a season ago. 

The loss of van Persie will keep Arsenal in the holding pattern they been in for the past seven seasons. Even without van Persie, the team will still finish third or fourth in the Premiership.