Arsenal Transfer News: Selling Robin Van Persie Disastrous for Gunners

Just in time for the opening of the Premier League season, Dutch striker Robin van Persie ended a summer full of rumors and agreed to a four-year contract worth a reported £200,000 ($312,000) per-week with Manchester United (Via The Telegraph).

The announcement comes just two days after Arsenal, van Persie's former club, announced it had come to an agreement with its rival on a £24 million ($38 million) transfer fee for the 29-year-old star.

For Manchester United, acquiring van Persie in time for the start of the EPL season finishes a fantastic transfer period and the Red Devils come into club play with the second-best odds to win a championship at 6/1 (via Bovada.lv).

It also represents a dream come true for the Dutchman.

Via ESPN:

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"In these situations, when you have to make a hard decision in your life, I always listen to that little boy inside me. What does he want? That boy was screaming for Manchester United.

"I am looking forward to following in the footsteps of so many great strikers, bringing my experience and playing my part to help the team compete for the biggest trophies in the game. I can't wait to get started."

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While it's all celebratory smiles and title dreams for Man U, losing van Persie is nothing short of devastating for Arsenal's Premier League championship hopes.

After six seasons of good, but not transcendent, play with Arsenal, van Persie blossomed into a superstar in his last two years with the Gunners.

During the 2011-12 EPL campaign, van Persie had the most goals of any player, scoring a whopping 30 in 37 contests, fooling around and adding in nine assists as well.

While Arsenal knew that van Persie was likely transferring for weeks now, that won't make replacing the offensive juggernaut any easier.

Manager Arsene Wenger has already began moving on, appointing Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen as the team's new captain and announcing that 20-year-old midfielder Jack Wilshire would take over van Persie's No. 10 shirt (via Daily Mail).

And Wenger has also nipped any speculation that he would drop back into the transfer market to replace his departing star.

With both Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud are already in place, Arsenal will walk into its first EPL contest equipped with two talented young strikers to help stop the bleeding.

But neither players on-roster or anyone on the transfer market will be able to adequately fill this massive loss.

No matter who is on the roster, a club simply cannot replace its eighth all-time leading scorer overnight.

The cold truth of the matter is losing van Persie ends any hope that Arsenal had of winning the EPL this season, while instantly vaulting Manchester United into a new stratosphere.