In the summer of 2012, then Arsenal skipper Robin Van Persie shocked the world by announcing that he would not be extending his stay with the Gunners.
Van Persie had just won the Golden Boot and named the English Premier League player of the year after leading Arsenal to a third place finish in the league.
Van Persie would join Manchester United later that summer and win the league title and the Golden Boot in what was Sir Alex Ferguson’s last year as a manager.
Contrary to what many people thought and reports, Van Persie revealed that Arsenal did not offer him a contract extension.
I can promise you on my kids, if someone comes with proof that Arsenal offered me a deal, I will give you a million [pounds] now, today. ‘It was Arsenal’s decision not to offer me a deal and that is up to them. After many conversations, it became clear that we had different ideas about the club.
I had seven points where I thought Arsenal could improve and in my opinion those seven points they should start dealing with them straight away to be able to compete with the best teams,” the Dutchman said.
Van Persie stated that he did not like the way Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis handled the situation and this prompted him to make the move to Manchester.
“It was not only between me and Arsene Wenger, there was more happening with Ivan of course and the way he behaved and the way he handled the whole situation,” he said told The High Performance Podcast.