Ex-Arsenal chief Dick Law has revealed the extent the club went to to keep ahold of former star Robin Van Persie before the Dutchman’s move to rivals Man United back in 2012.
Van Persie was seen as a fan favourite for the Gunners, especially following the 2011/12 season, where he bagged an astonishing 30 goals for the north London side in the Premier League.
However, this reputation was quickly shattered to pieces, after the forward moved to rivals Man United in the summer of 2012.
And former Gunners man Law has revealed the extent the club went to to keep Van Persie ahead of his eventual move to Old Trafford.
According to Goal, when speaking about Van Persie, Law stated “We did everything we could to keep Robin. He was 29 when he moved, he had a year left and wanted to do his very best in arguably his next-to-last contact – or even his last contract.”
Law then added “In every case where we attempted in good faith to negotiate with players, we just couldn’t control all the factors.”
Given that he want on to win the Premier League with Man United during his first season with the Red Devils, we doubt the player cared too much about what the fans of his former side thought of him.
If Arsenal had kept Van Persie instead of selling him to United, we wonder just whether the club could’ve ended their Premier League title drought in the years before his retirement.
However, we’ll never know just how the club would’ve faired had they kept him, something the club really tried to do if these words from Law are anything to go off.
