Arsene Wenger still sees his former captain Robin van Persie as “an Arsenal
man”. Wenger’s Premier League pacesetters travel to Old Trafford on Sunday
to meet again the striker, whose departure from the Emirates so vexed Arsenal
supporters.
“It will be strange to see him in a Manchester
United shirt because for me he is an Arsenal man,’’ said Wenger. “I
took him as a very, very young player and we came together through very
difficult periods. He became a world-class player and for me he is an
Arsenal player.’’
Wenger also insists he sold Van Persie to United because of discussions
between the two of them rather than the persuasive powers of Sir Alex
Ferguson. United’s then manager confirms in his recent book that he phoned
Wenger directly at one point in an attempt to accelerate the deal.
He eventually sold the Dutchman to United for £24m in August 2012 after long
speculation and plenty of talks between Wenger and Van Persie. "It was
more the fact that the conversations I had with Robin convinced me (to sell),"
said Wenger, whose Arsenal side visit Van Persie's United on Sunday.
"It was not the talks with Sir Alex that convinced me to sell Van Persie
to Manchester United. The head-to-head talks I had with Van Persie many,
many times convinced me I had to sell him."
Wenger believes that Rene Meulensteen, who was one of Ferguson's trusted
assistants at Old Trafford, played a part in persuading his compatriot to
join.
"I think what was part of that is that Van Persie was convinced by the Dutch coach that was at Manchester United. That played a big part in that. In the end, I had to decide do I do it or not knowing I would get huge criticism for doing it. At the end of the day I felt it was the best thing to do.
"Sometimes it (the move) is linked with age and Van Persie was 29 and more impatient. We had gone through years where we had to be tight financially in a way that was logical and normal without fading too much at the top level. Some players saw the big clubs buying world-name players and of course they lost a bit their confidence that we could compete with them.
"It is understandable but some players have always been consistent in the way they thought the club has to be run. But at some stage we can turn the corner as we have seen this season."
Wenger faces David Moyes this weekend with Ferguson now retired. "It will be a bit strange without Sir Alex. For the past 17 years it was the case. I will see him, certainly. It will be more peaceful because we do not fight each other. Now we meet at the big managers' meeting to discuss how to improve football, not how Arsenal can beat Manchester United and how Manchester United can beat Arsenal. It will be more serene.
"For us it is a very, very important game. We've had two strong results against Liverpool and Dortmund. It is still one of the benchmarks of the season when you judge how strong you are. It is one of the big games where you can gain confidence and credit from your behaviour."
Arsenal have won only one of their last 11 visits to United in the Premier League. "We had periods where we did very well at Old Trafford. Recently, we have not done so well. So this is a good opportunity to show we can win there. We trust our quality, we show the resilience and hunger to achieve what we can."
The form of Aaron Ramsey is one of the reasons that Wenger heads north with such confidence. "Aaron Ramsey is a very strong player and he plays with a lot of dedication, a huge desire and focus to improve. I've shown in the past when he was hugely criticised that I always played him. That shows how much I admire him and how much I think he is a great player."
Wenger dismissed concerns about Arsenal placing too much pressure on Olivier Giroud, their centre-forward. "I don't see any sign of fatigue. Giroud has the physical resilience to cope with that. He has good stamina, strong body, and a great appetite for the game. He is very hungry."
Wenger is also "quite confident" that Mathieu Flamini will be available but he will wait to see how Jack Wilshere responds to today's training session before deciding whether to use the England midfielder.
Roy Hodgson will be watching the situation closely as he has picked Wilshere in his squad to face Chile and Germany.
Meanwhile, Arsenal's manager played down the suggestion of a move for United's Javier Hernandez. "That is just the normal English coincidence with the next game," smiled Wenger.
"I think what was part of that is that Van Persie was convinced by the Dutch coach that was at Manchester United. That played a big part in that. In the end, I had to decide do I do it or not knowing I would get huge criticism for doing it. At the end of the day I felt it was the best thing to do.
"Sometimes it (the move) is linked with age and Van Persie was 29 and more impatient. We had gone through years where we had to be tight financially in a way that was logical and normal without fading too much at the top level. Some players saw the big clubs buying world-name players and of course they lost a bit their confidence that we could compete with them.
"It is understandable but some players have always been consistent in the way they thought the club has to be run. But at some stage we can turn the corner as we have seen this season."
Wenger faces David Moyes this weekend with Ferguson now retired. "It will be a bit strange without Sir Alex. For the past 17 years it was the case. I will see him, certainly. It will be more peaceful because we do not fight each other. Now we meet at the big managers' meeting to discuss how to improve football, not how Arsenal can beat Manchester United and how Manchester United can beat Arsenal. It will be more serene.
"For us it is a very, very important game. We've had two strong results against Liverpool and Dortmund. It is still one of the benchmarks of the season when you judge how strong you are. It is one of the big games where you can gain confidence and credit from your behaviour."
Arsenal have won only one of their last 11 visits to United in the Premier League. "We had periods where we did very well at Old Trafford. Recently, we have not done so well. So this is a good opportunity to show we can win there. We trust our quality, we show the resilience and hunger to achieve what we can."
The form of Aaron Ramsey is one of the reasons that Wenger heads north with such confidence. "Aaron Ramsey is a very strong player and he plays with a lot of dedication, a huge desire and focus to improve. I've shown in the past when he was hugely criticised that I always played him. That shows how much I admire him and how much I think he is a great player."
Wenger dismissed concerns about Arsenal placing too much pressure on Olivier Giroud, their centre-forward. "I don't see any sign of fatigue. Giroud has the physical resilience to cope with that. He has good stamina, strong body, and a great appetite for the game. He is very hungry."
Wenger is also "quite confident" that Mathieu Flamini will be available but he will wait to see how Jack Wilshere responds to today's training session before deciding whether to use the England midfielder.
Roy Hodgson will be watching the situation closely as he has picked Wilshere in his squad to face Chile and Germany.
Meanwhile, Arsenal's manager played down the suggestion of a move for United's Javier Hernandez. "That is just the normal English coincidence with the next game," smiled Wenger.
No comments:
Post a Comment