Van Persie - Arsene's genius or not

So the Robin Van Persie transfer saga is over before the season started and his destination will probably leave a bitter taste in the club's supporters that have stayed by him through thick and thin. Van Persie is moving to Manchester United. Short of joining former Arsenal colleagues at City, the Dutchman has probably made himself unpopular whilst the rest of the Premier League fans either frown at such a move or laugh at the expense of Arsenal.

Wenger's hands were tied to a point. Did he sell him now or did he wait and let him go for free. With Van Persie edging closer to 30 it was possible that his value would not be great, but naturally when you have a resource, there will always be someone to buy it and that buyer happened to be Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. Man United who narrowly missed out on the title which was the highlight of an otherwise below average season, could do very well with signing RVP although naturally, his history of remaining fit and healthy would be one question mark. 

For Wenger when a club comes in with a healthy bid of around the £20 million plus mark, he will no doubt be thinking that whilst he would rather the Dutchman go somewhere else, he could at least with the money sign one or two new players. If Wenger had either waited till January or the end of the season, he could in theory lose him for nothing. It is of course not the first time that Arsenal have lost a big name player, but they have managed to cope. This time they have two top name strikers who could do just as well and remain more fit to play.

It will of course be interesting to see what happens at United now they have a number of strikers. This will certainly spell the end of Berbatov, although now Owen's gone the, subs bench may seem a little more comfortable. Hernandez may find himself further down the list. It is likely that Rooney will play behind Van Persie (suspensions permitting). Man United fans of course will think that they can walk to the title with the addition of RVP, but I think it would be a bit too soon to make that judgement so early. Whatever happens, it will be an interesting season ahead.

It will also be interesting to see what Wenger does with the income from the RVP transfer. Arsenal fans will of course be hoping that he buys some new players.