Robin van Persie has shed new light on his decision to leave Arsenal for bitter rivals Manchester United in 2012, and it doesn’t make great listening for Gunners fans.
The Dutchman spent eight years with Arsenal before making the jump to Old Trafford, where he was instantly rewarded by lifting first Premier League trophy.
Now van Persie has opened up about that difficult decision in an interview with Kaj Gorgels, saying he simply didn’t feel that Arsenal were in a position to compete for trophies.
“At Arsenal, I didn’t feel like we were on the level to compete.” he said.
“One day, The chairman of Arsenal showed me how healthy the club was by showing me their positive numbers. I told him: ‘I don’t give a sh*t about these numbers, I want to lift the Premier League trophy.”
The striker went on to explain how a move to Juventus had been on the cards, though it was due to stubbornness on Arsenal’s part that the move didn’t happen. That left either United or City as his next destination, and the rest is history.
Van Persie: “We felt it would be best to leave for a club outside of England, the deal with Juventus was closed. But the chairman of Arsenal was stubborn towards Juventus. I told him that my other two other options were Manchester United or Manchester City, so it’s his own risk." pic.twitter.com/PeC3j0G0F3
— ??? ???? ? (@TheEuropeanLad) December 10, 2020
“My departure from Arsenal to Manchester United is still a sensitive topic in England. But I wanted to win, I just wanted to win. And I had to take a risk for that.”
It’s tough to argue with his decision now, isn’t it?
Featured image credit: Getty