6:38AM BST 16 Aug 2012
Wenger did then grudgingly accept that his vision for a young group to grow
together, be nurtured together and eventually flourish together, would
ultimately be dependent on them sharing his outlook for
The loyalty of the players was to themselves not Arsenal and, while that might be regrettable, there will also be those queuing up to tell Wenger that he was naive to ever think it could be different.
While Arsenal can argue with some conviction that a fee of £24 million for an injury prone 29-year-old could prove to be an inspired piece of business, the loss of Van Persie is still more damning than past departures. With Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell or even Nicolas Anelka, there was the sense that Arsenal had already had their best years. With Nasri, it was hard to avoid the suspicion it was largely about money. Even with Fabregas, there was his past affiliation with Barcelona.
With Van Persie none of the above necessarily applies. He is at the peak of his powers, Wenger wanted him to stay and he has not gone to a club who are being bankrolled by a billionaire benefactor.
In their adherence to the same self-sustainable principles that Arsenal hold
dear,
Proving Van Persie wrong now represents the greatest and defining challenge of Wenger’s career.
Telegraph Fantasy Football
