Arsenal FC: Arsene Wenger's Empire Will Collapse If Robin Van Persie Leaves

Arsene Wenger's crumbling empire cannot survive another heavy defeat. For what it's worth the Arsenal board has given Wenger their backing, but not even the credit he built up in those glorious early years at Highbury will be enough to save him if Robin van Persie walks out on the club.

It's been six years since Arsenal won their last major trophy, the 2005 FA Cup, and even the most staunch Wenger supporter must be questioning his role in the club's future now. While Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have concentrated their talent pool, Arsenal has seen theirs diluted.

Over the summer Arsenal fans saw two of their better players, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, leave to pursue their footballing and financial ambitions at City. Cesc Fabregas, meanwhile, practically got on his knees to beg for a move back home to Barcelona.

With transfer deadline day looming Arsenal had banked two major signings, Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Both have fine potential, but nobody expected them to make a huge impact in the 2011-12 season.These were players for the future, but what future could Arsenal expect if they continued to sell their best players when they reached maturity?

Then came the humiliation at Old Trafford. We'll never know for sure, but you can't help feel the 8-2 defeat to United focused Arsenal's tenacity in closing deals for Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and Mikel Arteta on deadline day. There was also a loan deal for Yossi Benayoun.

It was a flurry of spending that sparked a sense of relief among Arsenal fans, but in truth it failed to hide the truth. Wenger had missed out on the likes of Juan Mata, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and Santi Cazorla, and arguably finished the summer with a weaker squad than he started out with.

But at least there was Van Persie. The Dutchman was installed as Fabregas' successor to the Arsenal captaincy and became the natural figurehead for the team and their supporters. In Van Persie we trust, so to speak, and if a player of that quality is in for the long-haul then perhaps Arsenal are not the spent force they've appeared of late. Hope lived on in the striker.

Only now Arsenal has a problem. Reports today suggest Van Persie is stalling on signing a new deal at The Emirates, and with just two years left on his current contract Arsenal will be fearing a repeat of the Nasri saga that ran all summer.

Wenger says he's confident Van Persie will stay at Arsenal, but he said the same about Nasri and he said the same about Fabregas. Wenger said,

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“If you’re in Robin’s place and you see Nasri going, Fabregas going, then you can be worried, of course,” Wenger said.

Robin is 28 years old, arrived at 21 or 22 and we will not lose all the players. We lost Fabregas [to Barcelona] not because of a financial reason but because of an understandable reason even if it hurts us a lot.

You can understand that but the one which is less understandable is Nasri. That was more down to him having one year on his contract.”

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Whatever happens next, history suggests the Van Persie's situation will lead the Arsenal narrative until he either agrees to a new deal, or leaves the club. It's Fabregas all over again, and the very last thing Wenger needed right now.

Just when the embattled Arsenal manager should be concentrating on getting his team back on track, so another distraction threatens to undermine his attempts at progress. Whether he likes it or not, the battle to keep Van Persie at the club could now prove to be the defining moment of the season.

If the January window arrives with the club's best player still looking elsewhere, it will be all the more difficult to convince Europe's best of the ambition at The Emirates. Unless Arsenal bring in reinforcements of the quality they lost over the summer, the Gunners could very well start next season without their current captain, and their manager.