Five Cantonas

I touched upon how ludicrous this particular rumour was in a previous post, but as it seems to be gaining traction I thought it best to slap it down once and for all. It’s stupid, childish nonsense made up by kids on study leave from their GCSEs.

The story was broken by The Mirror, that bastion of journalistic integrity and careful research. Their source? Apparently Sir Alex Ferguson had told his “footballing friends” that he was fairly certain of sealing a deal for Robin van Persie. Now, does that sound like the kind of thing Sir Alex would do? Go blabbing his transfer targets to football friends so trusted that the first thing they do is run to the mirror to grass him up? If Sir Alex were pissed up at the end of season do then I could just about see it. He isn’t, so he didnt.

Secondly, Robin feels an affinity with the Arsenal fans and wouldn’t want to move somewhere that would upset them greatly. I can see him moving to Italy or Spain, but I cannot see him joining one of Arsenal’s biggest rivals. If he joined us the Gooners would treat him not with passive indifference but blind rage. He would be a hate target for years to come and he simply does not want that, no matter how many trophies he’d go on to win.

Lastly, £20m for a striker? We don’t have that kind of money to spend in those positions. I could stomach £20 for a decent box-to-box midfielder, but for another striker? As great a player as Robin is, would he really improve us in that area as much as £20m in other areas of the team would? There are also the concerns over his fitness to take into account. Last season was his first truly injury-free season since he joined Arsenal. Any relapse would see his value plummet. That, unfortunately, is why he won’t join us. The Glazers want players with resale value, which is why Lucas Moura makes sense even if he is currently overpriced.

It’s nice to get excited about a loony transfer story every once in a while, but this one? Utterly insane.