Gunners now just a feeder club

For Arsenal fans, it was like being told a terminally ill patient had finally met their maker.

An inevitability, it seemed more a matter of when than if. There were vague hopes the player might at least serve out the remaining year of his contract, but financially, the club were never going to let an asset of van Persie’s value dwindle to nothing.

Three moments indicated the writing was on the wall: the lack of any announcement after the mid-May talks; the purchase of Olivier Giroud and Van Persie’s statement on his official website. The latter was as good as a transfer request, and many fans turned against the Arsenal skipper from that moment on.

It became obvious Manchester United was the club he wanted to go to. Doubtless his agent had sounded out all options, and it became a choice between Alex Ferguson’s side, Manchester City and Juventus. Van Persie will be a guaranteed starter at Old Trafford, although one imagines City might have offered greater wages. Juventus simply did not get near Arsenal’s asking price, so were not an option.

It seemed the only question remaining was whether or not United would meet the asking price before the season kicked off or try negotiating the price down closer to transfer deadline day. One thing you have to say about them is that they do not quibble over a couple of million if they want a player. If only the same could be said about Arsenal. One can only wonder how many targets have slipped through the net in this fashion.

The most galling aspect of the saga for this observer is not so much the loss of the Arsenal’s captain to one of their main rivals, but what it says about the respective ambition of the two clubs involved. Van Persie is certainly upping his income through the move, but he is also moving for footballing reasons, as others have before him since Arsenal moved to the Emirates.

Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri all moved on because they did not have enough faith in Arsene Wenger to bring them the medals they wanted and have been proved correct. Van Persie last lifted a trophy back in 2005.

The Gunners are unquestionably now a feeder club for bigger concerns, Arsene Wenger a star maker. This would be acceptable if the stars he makes were delivering silverware before moving on — as Henry did — but now Champions League qualification seems the limit of Arsenal’s ambition.

On a business level, it is an unquestioned success, which is why the manager is still in the job after seven years without a trophy. He is delivering house full signs, the revenue Champions League football brings and profit in the transfer market.

What he states in press conferences about not purchasing more players should be taken with a pinch of salt. He is too canny to reveal his hand for the sake of a journalist’s question. Another signing this summer will be dependent whether Alex Song moves to Barcelona — he now may not if his planned replacement, Real Madrid’s Nuri Sahin, goes to Liverpool.

However, more pertinent is what happens with the centre forward position. If Olivier Giroud is a success and remains fit, then problem solved. However, what is the back up plan? Is Podolski likely to be switched there? Surely the idea of using Marouane Chamakh or Ju-Young Park is now a thing of history. Nicklas Bendtner seems to have burned his bridges, although has the qualities to be the back-up option.

The signings of the three attacking players from the continent has created a buzz, encouraged by a decent display against a second string Cologne side last weekend, but Premier League fixtures will tell the real story.

Critically, none of them has playing experience in English football. Buying players with such a history often comes at a premium, so much so that Arsenal will usually refuse to pay it. So targets like Gary Cahill are passed up for the want of a few million.

United on the other hand, are more than willing to buy from other English clubs, and prepared to suffer the extra cost of doing so. The result? Less of a settling in period, less uncertainty about their ability to hack it on a wet Wednesday night in Wigan and more trophies.

They spend more, but their income is ultimately greater. They are not funded by oil, so much as fuelled by ambition. Arsenal cannot match the petrodollar concerns with their business model — which is successful but financially conservative. United speculate to accumulate and often buck the odds, winning four titles in the six years Arsenal have been at their new home, to say nothing of appearing in three Champions League finals.

Ultimately, the move of Arsenal’s captain to a rival club they should be doing more to emulate came as no surprise, because the bottom line is that for Arsene Wenger and thedirectors, the price was right.

* The author is editor of The Gooner fanzine