Being captain of The Arsenal used to be the most special thing a player could aspire to. Having seen Alumunia and Chamakh wear the captain’s armband in most recent times, it’s clear that it’s been devalued. But moreover than that, it’s clear that is also holds a curse… a curse of departure…
Patrick Vieira was captain when he was sold for £13m to Juventus, Henry was captain when his £18m sale to Barcelona happened and then £30m later, Cesc, as captain, left for the same Catalonian team. Van Persie has been given the armband this season, and that can only mean one thing – his departure… normally, captains have two seasons before they leave, but Van Persie has 2 years left on his contract and in summer, he will one year left…
I personally think Van Persie will extend his contract and stay beyond his current contract. At this moment in time, he is focusing on his football and his game and that’s what he should be doing. He says he doesn’t want to focus on his contract right now… and that’s fine, and it’s understandable…
Until he says this:
“I have every trust in the things we are doing within the club. There is only a fine line between winning and losing. Just look at our last match against Spurs. We could have won that game with the chances we had. There is no need to panic for anyone. Our start is not good. I would have felt better if we had won the derby. We didn’t and right now there is a negative feeling. But I assure you, it is not all that negative. It is up to us, players and staff, to sort it out on the pitch.”
But the worrying part:
“I am not going to make any statements about my future. Not now, not for a while. I’ve been at Arsenal eight years and that is quite extraordinary these days. Which is why I treasure this. What my future will bring, nobody knows. I can understand people are curious, but I am just dedicated to everything at Arsenal right now.”
And is there a reason for him to talk about the length of his stay or use the classic “nobody knows”…? And when he was quizzed about whether he would join Man City in the summer, he said:
“I do not know what I will do – I cannot predict the future. Everybody makes his own history and only afterwards can you see how that went. For one thing, as an indication, when I came to Arsenal we immediately beat City. But in recent years much has happened in England. Nevertheless, I think the Premiership is still the best league in the world, it gives me everything I want.”
The answer we were looking for Robin… is that “I’d never go to City”… but then again, both Nasri & Clichy have said that previously and they’ve turned up there in the end… For the first time since I wrote the previous article about why I think he will stay, I’m beginning to have second thoughts. I’m now 80:20 certain….!
The problem isn’t whether our captain will be here next season – the problem is that I shouldn’t be writing about this story now – I should be talking about the football, the game, the formation, the goals. But unfortunately for us, football is more complicated.
But on a lighter note… how good does Alex Oxlade Chamberlain look? He was 17 when we bought him, he’s now 18 and he looks seriously good… 5 goals in 3 games for club and country… awesome stuff. He will definitely be competing with Theo Walcott & Gervinho for a starting berth this season for sure…
Let’s hope we can get back into winning ways and let’s hope Van Persie rubbishes the recent stories… We are The Arsenal…!
