Robin Van Persie and Arsenal, an Open Letter: Shame, Ambition and Immortality

Mr. Robin Van Persie:

Apropos the new contract being offered you by Arsenal, please put pen to paper; sign the new contract.

The question on every Gooner's mind, naturally, is whether or not you will indeed sign. Eighteen months are left on your contract, guaranteeing Arsenal your services for at least one more year, but with the current form that you now enjoy, it seems a foregone conclusion that other clubs will seek to woo you as early as this January and definitely in the summer.

Manchester City are reportedly eager to sign you as replacement for their disenfranchised best player of last season, Carlos Tevez. But again, Manchester City are linked to every player of note on the blue planet. And who's to say they'll not discard you in the end like Tevez for some new hotshot?

The reason Arsenal may lose you is purely financial, although the old argument about a greater chance of winning trophies elsewhere could be resurrected again.

Samir Nasri, for example, already appears poised to win his first premiership medal. Cesc Fabregas has already won a medal with Barcelona. So a point can made here.

But it's not really a convincing argument. For example, although Manchester City are five points ahead of their nearest challenger on the premiership table at the moment, it's still too early to make their winning the title a bygone conclusion.

A lot can happen between now and the end of the season, and for all you know, Arsenal could even win it. And if City don't win it this year, what guarantee is there that they'll win it next year?

Already, City have crashed out of the UEFA Champions League, though they, more than Arsenal, looked better poised to progress further in the competition. This underscores the fact that surface appearances are not enough guarantee for success at a club.

If Manchester United (and never count them out), Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur overtake Manchester City in the end for the title, then Nasri's feeble excuse would be rubbished. The end of the unforgiving Christmas schedule will give us a better picture of City's chances at being crowned champions this year.

The argument according to a better chance of winning trophies elsewhere is the ambition part. This argument though seems to me like taking the easy way out.

You have already invested eight years with Arsenal, and the investment is only beginning to yield dividends, why not wait for the full harvest? For all we know (and you never know) the next four years might belong to Arsenal.

The shame part relates to current events: Evra Ashamed to be in Europa League, declares the bold title of the tabloid, Sun. In reality, the word Evra used is "embarrassment". He says:

"

"It is embarrassing to be in the Europa League.

"But it is not just about this one game, it is about the whole tournament. We threw away a chance to qualify. From the beginning of the season we have not played well in the Champions League. It is a sad day."

"

But who could have predicted this outcome two months ago?

When Manchester United walloped Arsenal, a refrain rose to a crescendo among even Arsenal fans that the club was finished. Some expected Arsenal to be relegated at the end of the season, after the Blackburn mishap compounded the club's woes in September.

Few people expected Arsenal to even qualify for the group stage of the Champions League. But qualify Arsenal did, in a resounding manner even, and the irony now is the two crisis clubs of English football are the ones left standing, while the ones whose profile fit snugly the meta narrative of glory, which the media likes to concoct, are left lying in the dust of ignominy.

Never discount the unseen "X" in football or in life in general.

So Nasri will be cooling his heels in the Europa League and he and City intend to win it, says Mancini. Well, what else can we say but "Good luck with that." It could be our turn next year, of course, so there's a limit to the schadenfreude.

The lesson we learn here, of course, is that a bigger club (financially, that is) does not guarantee glory. That's the shame part.

The immortality part is what should make you extend your contract with Arsenal for at least four more years. Here's why: If you stay and continue with your current exploits, you're guaranteed a place in the annals of Arsenal's greats.

Your name would be written in stone at Arsenal. You may even have a statue erected in your honor in the future and be worshiped together with Thierry Henry by generation upon generation of Gooners, much like how Johan Cruyff, your compatriot, has been immortalized at Barcelona.

If you leave now when you're just about reaching the heights, you might gain financial dividends, but lose the chance of being immortalized and idolized at a club for which you have given much of your playing years.

The sad thing though would be that both at Arsenal and the new club you move to, you'd simply be an "also-been". 

Therefore, Robin Van Persie, choose immortality over momentary glory. This is your choice-of-Hercules moment. Make the right one.