So what better time to sell him than now when his ovation is at its loudest after all he is going on 29 years and sports science (read common sense) which Arsene Wenger has been known to favour its benefits have shown that the law of diminishing returns creeps up on most footballers at about this age.
My friend Obinna came at me with this conspiracy theory this morning and I tried to fault his reasoning but I had to admit he made a lot of us sense.
"Wenger always renewed RVPs contract even when he was injured but stalled this time because I believe he realised RVP is advancing in age, so any long term injury now could end his career! Do you want to have a £180k\week player in your books that's always injured?," Obinna said.
By calling Van Persie's bluff at the meetings between player/agent and club, the club may have reasoned that RVP will resort to something desperate like releasing that infamous statement which ultimately pitched the fans against RVP while ensuring that the club will not once again be accused of always being ready to sell off their best players.
While the statement released by RVP did not do the club's negotiating position any favours, it ensured that an auction for the player began in earnest.
"Now we look like reluctant sellers, and to do business with a reluctant seller, you need to do like Don Corleone said and make him an offer he can't refuse," Obinna reasoned. "Why else would we have bought two strikers in a hurry which goes against our usual transfer dealings and are in the market for a third one?"
"We need to make Wenger an offer he can't refuse" |