To say that Robin Van Persie is a massive player for the Gunners would be an understatement. The Dutchman has been instrumental to Arsenal’s campaign this season and is perhaps the biggest reason for their revival after a disastrous start to the season. His goalscoring record too has been phenomenal this term, with the player having found the back of the net 28 times apart from having created 8 more for his teammates in 30 games.
To put the stats into perspective, the 28-year old is perhaps one of the most prolific strikers in Europe at the moment and therefore it does not come as a surprise that he is attracting interest from some of the giants of the game. While earlier he was linked with Barcelona, Spanish daily Marca, according to The Daily Mirror, believes that Real Madrid have now emerged as frontrunners for the player’s signature. The report also goes on to suggest that Jose Mourinho even tried to prise the player away from the Emirates during his tenure at Inter Milan and is once again looking at the Dutchman in a bid to topple Barcelona.
Adding more fuel to the fire is the fact that Van Persie is yet to sign a contract extension and will enter the last year of his current deal in the summer, something that will certainly reduce his value as well as make people doubt his commitment to Arsenal’s cause.
While Real Madrid have no dearth of attacking talent, an in-form player like Van Persie will certainly improve them as a team and that could see them march ahead of their Catalan rivals in the Champions League as well.
Should Van Persie leave, then it would be a monstrous blow to Arsene Wenger, especially at a time when the veteran manager is still reeling from the loss of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas. The Gunners though could yet strike a good deal should the Spanish giants make a bid, since they have shown interest in Karim Benzema earlier. A swap deal may be in the best interests of all involved, although that too would be easier said than done with Benzema finally finding form at the Bernabeu.
After a relatively quiet winter transfer window, activity by some of the big clubs looks set to intensify in the summer and one can’t help but feel that Van Persie could be on his way out, especially if the Gunners fail to qualify for the Champions League.
(TheSportsCampus)
