VAN PERSIE QUITS ARSENAL...???

Jack? Theo? Who’s next to go?

WIL TO STAY? ... Jack Wilshere may want to join Emirates exodus after his skipper leaves

By MARK IRWIN

Last Updated: 05th July 2012

IT started with a trickle and quickly became a stream 

Robin van Persie’s announcement that he will not be signing a new contract has left Arsene Wenger and his daydreaming directors in a state of shock.

But the captain’s decision to join the Emirates exodus will come as no surprise to the long-suffering supporters who have witnessed the rapid decline of their team.
Was it really only eight years ago that Arsenal’s Invincibles won the Premier League without losing a single match?
That record-breaking title run should have heralded the dawn of a period of utter domination of domestic and European football.
Instead it proved to be the turning point in the fortunes of a once-great club who have been undone by a lack of ambition and a refusal to move with the times.
True, the team did go on to lift the FA Cup the following year in what was to prove captain Patrick Vieira’s final game for the club.
But the trophy cabinet has been bare ever since that penalty shootout victory over Manchester United way back in 2005.
And Vieira’s departure for Juventus signalled the beginning of a mass migration which has since included (very deep breath)... Robert Pires, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, Jens Lehmann, Gilberto Silva, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Eboue and Samir Nasri.
Now Footballer of the Year Van Persie wants to add his name to that illustrious list after carrying the team on the back of his 37 goals last season.
The skipper has quite simply run out of patience with Wenger’s worthy intentions and empty promises.
Every year the manager insists his promising young team is finally ready to challenge the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Man City for the title.
And every year they get further away from fulfilling those lofty ambitions.
Sure Arsenal have spent much of the money they have banked from the sale of all their superstars. But the replacements are always that little bit cheaper and never quite as good.
Alex Hleb for Vieira anyone? Eduardo for Henry or Arteta for Fabregas?
Wenger is at it again this time, spending £13million on Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud and a further £11m on Lukas Podolski.
But will either prove capable of filling the gaping hole left by Van Persie’s imminent departure? It seems unlikely.
Henry, Fabregas and Nasri all moved on because they could no longer see a time when they would win major trophies with Arsenal.
Van Persie, an 86th-minute sub in that 2005 FA Cup final, has reluctantly come to the same conclusion.
The Dutchman could not have given much more to the club during his eight years in an Arsenal shirt — yet all his best efforts have come to nothing.
And if Van Persie now feels this way, it is inevitable the next generation of Arsenal stars will soon start questioning their own prospects of silverware.
Theo Walcott, like Van Persie, is out of contract next year and has yet to agree a new deal.
He knows that European champions Chelsea are keen on him and who could really blame him for being tempted?
And what about Jack Wilshere, the most talented English player to burst on to the Premier League scene since Wayne Rooney?
Rooney was just 18 when he left Everton for Manchester United, since when he has won four League Championships, two League Cups and the Champions League.
Wilshere is still only 20 and has plenty of time on his side despite missing the whole of last season with a persistent ankle problem.
Yet how long will he be prepared to wait to win his first trophy with Arsenal?
Maybe Van Persie’s bombshell will be the wake-up call Arsenal need to rouse them from their slumbers.
Maybe Wenger will finally accept he has to pay top money if he wants to sign the likes of Eden Hazard, David Silva or Sergio Aguero.
And maybe Stan Kroenke and Ivan Gazidis will stop panicking about Financial Fair Play and realise the new TV deal will provide Arsenal with riches beyond their dreams.
Just don’t hold your breath.
Robin van Persie did that until he was blue in the face. And look where it got him.