Full squad back in training. So what’s RVP doing?
August 1, 2012
Apparently today’s the day that the full squad finally get to train together. That’s the Asia tour lot, the late back from the Euros lot, plus new signings Podolski and Giroud. And I suppose even Robin Van Persie too.
With 17 days to go now until the big kick off you’d expect the coaching staff to be getting down to the business of fine tuning. Arsene Wenger must have a starting XI in mind already for the game against Sunderland and he’ll be honing that formation, making sure everybody’s comfortable in their roles, particularly the new signings. But it does beg the question – where does RVP figure in all that?
We’re still apparently no closer to agreeing a deal with any of the three clubs that are supposedly in for him and with the club indicating that if our asking price is not met then we’ll keep him to his contract does that mean that Van Persie takes centre stage once more at London Colney this morning? We could learn a lot this afternoon as the club no doubt release another set of pictures from the training ground. Will we see the greying Dutchman laughing and joking with his teammates? Banging a Podolski cross into the roof of the net? Or just one of those thoughtful poses, sat staring at the cones in the middle distance enigmatically as Arsene Wenger looks on, worry etched into those lines on his face.
We’ve said it before but with the players that Arsenal have already brought in this summer and with the rumours growing by the day that Santi Cazorla and possibly Nuri Sahin and/or Yann M’Vila could join too, Van Persie’s statement earlier this summer looks ever more ridiculous. Maybe if we bring these new signings in it could force a late U-turn and a decision to stay but more likely we’ll see what we suspected all along – that this move is money motivated and nothing more.
Le Boss has been talking, for the umpteenth time, about the difficulties we have in matching up to the unlimited funds on offer at some of our rivals:
We consider ourselves in a privileged position because we have a massive income. But overall we are not mega-rich because we do not have unlimited resources.
A club can buy players like PSG has done or Manchester City or Chelsea, with unlimited resources, but overall football suffers.
Europe at the moment is like the Titanic but we live in football like nothing matters.
We have to be ambitious but also make sure we are not getting in trouble financially.
It is difficult for us because the wages in some other clubs are very high.
But of course our players quite rightly compare themselves to the players of the other clubs.
You don’t have to look too far to see the sad effects of clubs overreaching financially. We’re in a position to take advantage of that very situation at Malaga at the moment as I talked about yesterday. But as in any industry or sphere of life, the fact that the system as a whole is creaking at the foundations doesn’t stop the individuals in that system from trying to get what they can for themselves.
As AW points out, the players compare themselves to players from other clubs. More specifically in our case they compare themselves to players from Chelsea and Manchester City. And we’re never going to be able to match those wages.
In other news there was great fanfare on the official site yesterday as Serge Gnabry signed professional terms for the club. It’s unusual for a youngster turning pro to make such a splash on the site but a) it was a fairly slow news day yesterday and b) Gnabry looks like a very promising prospect indeed. He was the breakthrough player from the youth team last season scoring six in eight from the midfield and then made the step up to reserves nabbing another two in six.
At 17 years old and clearly already fast tracked within the club I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the occasional look in for the first team squad this season. He’s got a decent build for a kid so physically he would be well suited to it and as we’ve seen with the likes of Cesc and Wilshere in the recent past, Arsene’s not afraid to chuck someone in there young if he feels they’re good enough. At the very least I would expect to see him get his chance in the Capital One (can’t get used to that just yet) Cup this season.
Finally and Park Chu-Young has been linked in the Mirror with a move to Blackburn Rovers. Having been the subject of a tug of war only last year between Lille and Arsenal that would be a step down indeed for the South Korean who was living it up in Monaco before he disappeared from view with us last season.
Maybe the Mirror were just excited to use the headline ‘EWOOD PARK!’. Expect him then to be also linked with West Ham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Crystal Palace in the coming weeks.
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12 Responses to “Full squad back in training. So what’s RVP doing?”
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Nice site!
I think RVP should leave now than later so that wenger can bring some1 else.We have nothing but 2 thank him 4 all.
Welcome back from promotional tours of Asia boys. Hope wenger get support to keep Van Persie if and only if someone comes and pays +£20m. Keep him grounded and let him sulk to death or get up and work on his fitness. He should remember that its his last chance to show that he can stay fit all season never mind scoring a few goals. Having been at Arsenal since 2004 and only managing a whole season last season may have some clubs doubting his durability coz many were advising us to ditch him whenever his injuries were mentioned.
At the end next season RVP will be a free agent but he will be a couple of weeks to 30 years birthday: unofficial over-the-hill and therefore he has to do better keep teams in the upper echelons of Euro leagues interested in his service. I can see him doing so and get us a trophy as a result. Alternatively, he may sign after realising that we are as ambitious as he is with Podolski, Girou and Cazorla and whoever else.
More than that it sends message that Arsenal are not soft anymore. Fuck with them and you get fucked. If things dont go accordingly RVP will be attracting the likes of Stoke City, West Brom if he fails to replicate last season in his last season at Arsenal.
Wenger needs to get him to pay for our love and support when no one knew if he will ever amount o any good. Pay for our years and our tears.
Think Cazorla is another Mata waiting to happen probably go to Chelsea in the end.Bring back David Dean to replace that Ivan Idiot
What does gazidis get paid for our star players contracts continually run down and he clearly cant negotiate to bring players in very well either!!
Thanks mate, how we need back David Dein Only heaven knows. To avoid the mistake we did at the start of the last campaign,we should let van persie leave, get rid of dead-wood and add a couple of class signings like Carzola and a versatile defender like Sakho or Zapata.
Im trying to find the quotes, I think they are in a programme from 2 seasons ago where rvp lets rip at man city and al but calls them scum.
If he goes there, I’m going to plaster them all over the internet, send to every newspaper etc etc.
He’ll regret playing off our love all season and then doing one for megabucks at first opportunity
Keep RvP of all cost. Sell Big B, chamakc, PS Young and use thise wages to increase RvP’s wages. that will work.
Arsene has said it over and over again that we’re keeping Van Persie. Mancini, Juventus and even Ferguson have said they’ve made approaches but have been told he’s not for sale. A dutch journalist who is regular contact with Robin and has spoken to him recently has come out and said he “can’t see Robin moving to another club” and Robin himself never said he wanted to leave, only the media said that.
Where’s Robin’s transfer request? I mean he already released a statement saying he wasn’t signing because our ambitions don’t match i.e. he wants a bigger pay packet and more years. Cazorla is flying in today or tomorrow according to sky sports which pretty much own the premier league and are surprizingly accurate when it comes to calling this kind of thing. With Giroud, Podolski, Cazorla, Eisfeld showing promise, Diaby, Wilshire, Sanga all coming back there is no lack of ambition in terms of player quality or squad size.
So if you ask me any team that wants Van Persie is not going to get him for the reported 20 million that says will get him because we actually don’t need to sell and have no choice but to keep him seeing as Podolski and Giroud will not be ready to play in August so we need a striker who will be.
Bongo good call but do you honestly think he will not leave…surely hes made his postion untenable
Would it hurt anyone here to pipe down on the ‘bring David Dein back campaigne’? The man sold his arsenal shares worth 70M to one of Usmanov or Kroenke, he is not the messiah that people make him out to be, comprende!
I’ve been one of the few people advocating we keep Rvp. We have purchased 2 new strikers that are yet to get a feel for the premier league and there is no guarantee either of them will hit the ground running. Also taking into consideration there will be more competition for champions league places it is paramount we hit the ground running, and what better way than keeping the leading goalscorer of the previous Epl season? I say we swallow our pride and tell Rvp to get on with his ‘job’, he is an employee not the boss.
As for Serge Gnabry, During Wenger’s stint as pundit with France Tv, TF1 or something along those lines, he stated that the two best players currently in our Academy/Reserve are Germans, am guessing he was refering to Gnabry and Eisfield.
With a strikeforce of Giroud, Podolski and Walcott we will definately challenge for honours come the end of the season, add Rvp into the mix and we’re talking of a guaranteed top 4 position, my opinion.
I also agree with MH, hope i can call you that, there is no way in hell Rvp will leave Arsenal because of our ‘lack of ambition’, if buying international class players like Giroud, Podolski and potentially Cazorla doesn’t show ‘ambition’ then i don’t know what does.
Give the R.a.t his cheese, thats all he wants.