by ‘Ifreke Inyang

This time last year, Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, was busy convincing anyone who had ears, that the club would keep Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. By the time the season started, both midfielders had departed to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively, in search of ‘bigger ambitions’.

The Frenchman seems to have learnt his lessons, and is trying to sort out Robin van Persie’s future as quickly as possible. The Dutch striker has one year left on his current contract and has already confirmed, via a statment released on his website, that he will not be signing a new deal. The 28-year-old is not short of admirers, as United, City and Juventus circle around him.

Wenger, is however keen for a quick resolution. He said:

“We are very, very ambitious,” he said. “Not only very ambitious but also very proud of the way we run our club.

“For me, the size of a club is down to the size of the support. It can be the size of the cheque book to others but, for me, it’s the size of the support. You cannot question the size of the club when one player leaves or stays. That’s not linked.”

He also made it clear that there won’t be a repeat of last year transfer dealings, even if it meant imposing an internal deadline.

“The official deadline is August 31, but we can create an internal deadline,” Wenger said. “The transfer market should stop before the season starts.

“Robin van Persie is a world-class striker. I am a big supporter of him and I have supported him throughout. We took him very young, he has one year left and he’s in demand.

“It is our desire to keep him, but we’ll do what’s in the best interests of the club. If you have a decoder in your head, you can decode that.”