“No individual is bigger than the club.”
It’s a statement that’s now akin to ‘play our best’ and ‘one game at a time’ in the annals of bad sports clichés.
It’s a statement that’s been uttered with regularity in recent days by Arsenal supporters worldwide – without the hint of irony that would’ve made its use acceptable.
Where we stand today:
On Wednesday afternoon Arsenal captain Robin van Persie issued a statement through his website that indicated he disagreed with the current direction of the club and would not sign an extension to a deal that expires after next season.
Caught flat-footed, Arsenal FC hastily released a three sentence response to the RvP salvo – featuring the ominous line “we are confident that he will fulfil his commitments to the Club.”
And finally – it wouldn’t be a story about the Gunners finances without them – Red & White, the investment company headed by Alisher Usmanov and Farhad Moshiri that owns 30% of the club, released a statement outlining their deep reservations with Arsenal’s financial strategy under majority owner Stan Kroenke.
The seven stages of grief don’t apply to every situation – I’m a big revenge/anger fan. The reaction to RvP’s online proclamation – one that led to the crash of his personal website- from the Gunner faithful was a combination of sadness, anger and bargaining. Acceptance is a long way off. Throughout the last campaign speculation regarding van Persie’s future was rampant. From about January onwards I began to prepare myself – he was gone.
I’m mad, not because he is leaving. Last summer was a confirmation of what we already know. A spend thrift approach is not enough to compete in England and Europe. Fabregas and Nasri weren’t the first and they won’t be the last. I’m not mad that he’s leaving after the club stuck with him during his injury problems – probably the most ridiculous gripe I’ve seen since Wednesday.
While strolling in the park amongst your garden variety non poisonous snakes it became clear. L’affaire RvP bothered me more than I initially let on.
1) The website – really?
At least service the damn thing before you release a provocative statement like that.
If it’s a ploy – one that aims to win over the fans and direct their venom towards the board – than it’s a poorly calculated one. For that matter, what was the difference in their respective plans? Who was willing to give Didier Drogba his own fiefdom in North London. Why include the jab about CEO Ivan Gazidis being on vacation – a claim vehemently denied by the club. Even if it’s true, the snipe reeks of pettiness. Again, I fully understand why van Persie wants to play this year out, but the website man. The website.
2) Player retention
From Red and White’s statement yesterday:
“The real conflict seems to be between the supporters’ expectations and your vision for the club and at the heart of this is the policy of so-called self-financing. The self-financing model was created to suit the major shareholders at the time, all of whom subsequently sold their shares. The previous decision by the board to fund the building of the Emirates Stadium with long-term debt was, we believe, certainly not about self-financing.”
Usmanov says he’s a fan. He says Red and White want to do what all clubs with the history of Arsenal should do: win trophies. Look, it’s a good read. As Richard Whittall laid out yesterday, Usmanov wasn’t happy when Kroenke took majority control of the club. For the board, the American is the safe option. For the fan, Usmanov is the sketchy money dream. The Arsenal blogosphere is abuzz with speculation indicating the beginnings of a civil war over majority control.
Is this the dream though? The eccentric Uzbek isn’t wrong. Trophies. Retaining talent is our best way of showing other clubs we mean business, for lack of a better term. What is the point of cultivating these stars from the nether regions of Europe if we can’t capitalize on the prime of their careers – and that’s a business decision, not a football one.
Selling isn’t the only option. If the club’s ambition is what truly concerns van Persie, Wenger has time to prove the Dutchman wrong. While Giroud and Podolski are a good start – more needs to be done.
I think it’s safe to assume this will not happen.
3) RvP’s legacy
We finish where we started. No individual is bigger than the club – correct. But this individual – one Robin van Persie – was damn important. van Persie’s statement unleashed the same torrent of abuse and vitriol faced by other Arsenal deserters. We will move on, I have no doubts. But the impact this makes on the field is impossible to measure. As James Martin puts it – the RvP of last season is not replaceable. Where he goes, rumors have both Manchester clubs and Juventus as the most likely destinations, will go a long way in determining what exactly his legacy is in North London. Staying in England will kill a lot of goodwill in my books.
Robin van Persie was who we wanted him to be. Our star from the big club that should spend, but doesn’t.
“Robin van Persie was who we wanted him to be. Our star from the big club that should, but doesn’t.”
Is this a typo? I’m not trying to be snotty; I honestly don’t know what you mean.
RvP wasn’t what I wanted him to be; I wanted him to be healthy and start more than 111 games in his first seven years at the club.
His message about the direction of the club is self-serving. Signing Podolski & Giroud before the Euros were even over represents brisker transfer business than I’ve sign in a while. We don’t know what Kroenke’s vision is because he never says anything and RvP refuses to elucidate too. Furthermore, RvP’s statement has made it a lot harder for us to sign any more good players. Were we going to sign M’Vila or other potential top players? It’s impossible to know.
I don’t mind that much that he’s decided to leave. he’s entitled. This is just the wrong way to do it. Fabregas didn’t do it like this; he always kept his mouth shut and had nothing but praise & respect for the club. Even Nasri played one more game for us when everyone knew he was gone. I expected more from RvP.
Wasn’t a typo but I can see how it would be unclear.
Agree with much of what you said. Didn’t expect him to go the public statement route.
I’m absolutely gutted that he’s leaving like this, though it doesn’t surprise me he’s gone. I’m a die hard supporter but the overall talent around him is a second class one. Frankly I’m tired of it.
As a Toronto sports fan, I have come to expect disappointment year after year in my teams (Leafs, TFC, Raptors). I never thought I’d have to add Arsenal to that list. Ugh.
Arsenal gonna get relegated next year boys!
Things to look forward to:
Fifa 13. All the challenges will be along the lines of…”win with arsenal”
Walcott proving time and time again he needs to switch sports/careers to sprints/track and field.
Tottenham gonna destroy arsenal.
Last year of champs league for arsenal.
Boy, oh boy can’t wait!
Hi,
Good article. I think we need to put the situation into perspective. RVP has been at Arsenal 8 years, playing through some very difficult seasons and during the early years playing second fiddle to Henry. RVP didn’t even play in the ECL final 2006. I don’t think his leaving is owing to greed reasons like Nasri.
Arguably, he’s only had one good season, albeit a very good season. I sincerely hope he moves abroad as this will not taint his reputation with the Arsenal faithful as much as if he moved to a rival Premier League club.
I’d really appreciate it if you could check out my blog http://footballshortsuk.wordpress.com/ There’s a piece about the history and philosophies of Arsène Wenger which you may find interesting
I thought the blog piece was pretty good, personally. I actually think that Real Madrid have the best shot at signing RVP though, mainly because of the adidas money tree & because I think he is a better option than Higuain when it comes to pure finishing.
I don’t get this “only one good season” line that everyone is trotting out. He has had at least two, significantly the last two, and he appears to have sorted the fitness concerns which prevented him from having more of them.
When I read the statement it read more to me as negotiating stance than announcement, specifically the last line where he says he is planning further meetings with Gazidis. He was forbidden from talking with the media when away on international duty and now does not find microphones in his face, thus the website announcement, and perhaps the reference to Gazidis being on vacation (i.e., not getting the communication from the club he wants). Then I read the reaction and everyone is convinced otherwise, and it appears the tone chosen has eroded any possibility of further talks, at least as far as the fan base is concerned. I do think the reaction has been overblown, the comparison to Nasri in particular. It should be clear by now that Nasri is a weapons-grade cunt, a real contemptible figure, alienating fans and media wherever he lands. Van Persie has been nothing but a professional and inspirational captain, and if, on the cusp of 30, he thinks his best career move is away from Arsenal, I can disagree with him but cannot condemn him from having a different opinion.
I don’t think his goal scoring record over the past two seasons would have been equalled at any other club, and I don’t think he will be the type of player to thrive in an environment where he is not the main man or has to fight for his place. I think his form will tail off wherever he lands, which is a real shame because he is thrill to watch.
Oh, and also b/c Florentino has boatloads of cash that Arsenal could really use from this
hes not going to madrid. either juventus or man city in my opinion.
I hope that piece of shit doesn’t come to United….I don’t like disliking players on my team. Handled as badly as he could of possibly done it. Sadly, it was handled like his Dutch Stereotype suggests he would behave. Arrogant dickhead.
Dont be a POS, leave England. Don’t tarnish any good will towards the Dutch that Bergkamp established.
I agree fully with the statement “No individual is bigger than the club.” But unfortunately RvP is our best player right now. But this announcement, though I was expecting it sooner or later, absolutely gutted me. After all the patience that Wenger has shown him over the 7 previous seasons (prior to last season’s breakout campaign) with his injuries and shotty performances. I thought RvP would be a little more respectful to the man who brought him from obscurity at Feyenoord. I have been an RvP fan for a while and was hoping he would have a brilliant season like he did last season, only sooner in his time at the club.
I think it would be good for the club to put RvP on the transfer market and let the bidding war to start. The Gunners could get £30-35m from either Citeh or Juve. If they wait til January they’ll loose bargining leverage plus who knows, RvP could get injuried easily in the first few months of the season.
M’Vila is expected to sign for the club this month, from various sources in the UK and France. Plus the added injection of money into the club from the RvP transfer would give us the money for 2 more top players for sure this summer transfer period. Baring the fact that Kroenke doesn’t pocket the cash like he did with Fabregas’ and Nasri’s transfers.
I believe fully in Usmanov’s statement about player retention and the club’s number one goal: to win trophies! We so need to win some silverware soon or we will be loosing supporters more and more. People are giving up their season tickets because of the direction of the club is going, lack of player retention, inverted football business model by Kroenke, and raising of season ticket prices this season.
I will sad to see RvP to go but in the end, it is about the club not the individual. We support the club first and foremost!
Gooner til I die!!!