How should a Chelsea fan react to the Robin Van Persie saga?

Captain Vantastic, they called him. He scores when he wants, they sang. And now he has finally turned his back and according to the fans, shown his real image. Their anger is justified as superstars in Arsenal are known to move away to other clubs for money but in my eyes, the Van Persie tale is different. The fans once again believe that their player has left for money and not for any other reason , which according to me is just about the most pathetic reaction by any football club fan. Over the years, I have learnt to respect the Gunners but now it has reached an all-time low.

If you call him captain fantastic or whatever, you stick by him. You know he loves you and if he leaves there are other reasons, not just money. Robin Van Persie, according to me, has reached a time when his career is almost coming to a full stop. And as much as he loves to grab a goal at the Emirates, he knows that if he wants his career to remain memorable in the eyes of everyone, he needs to win trophies. In his website, he said that he disagreed with the way in which Arsenal FC wanted to move forward. In the last 7 years, Arsenal have won nothing at all and only have the so called Emirates cup to boast about which is basically nothing compared to other trophies.

Most probably, Van Persie might have criticised the board about the way they wanted to try and win trophies and that must have been the reason why he decided to not get a new contract as he himself understood that if he moved to a club where he would win trophies, his CV would have a bit more spark in it. After ending this season on a high, there are definitely going to be clubs looking at him. But at such an age, even Manchester CIty would think twice before signing him. In the exact words of Alisher Usmanov, the second largest shareholder at Arsenal :

“Yet again, we are faced with losing our true marquee player because we cannot give confidence we can win trophies.”

I personally respect him, for all he has done for Arsenal. He is the main reason why they are in the Champions League and it makes me cringe to see him get so much hate in the past two days after his so called “below twitter standards” post on his official website. Chelsea have had players like him and we love them even though they have left us. They called us rent boys but the irony in it is that they have had more rent boys then us as their so called “playing for the shirt players” who move away for bigger money and hope to win more trophies. Arsenal fans need to stop following and agreeing to the comments made by their board blindly and need to see the truth as to why he left. Its not about the money, its a bit about personal glory as well. If Arsenal were winning and Robin Van Persie was 30, I’m sure he wouldn’t have left for money as he loves the club with all his heart. You would be insane to say this but I finally believe that Roman Abramovich is a better owner than the share holders of Arsenal. See the light, dear Gooners. Stop criticizing one of the best players you had this season even though he was injury plagued in the previous years.

Now I would like to draw comparison to Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and Robin Van Persie

The best the game has ever seen?

If you asked someone last week they would say that these two have etched their names in the history books of the beautiful game and made themselves immortal. Didier Drogba has been a savior for Chelsea. A big man who knows how to step up in the big occasions. He recently left Chelsea for China to earn double than what he earned in London but Chelsea fans still love him and are planning to introduce a statue for him along with the Peter Osgood one. He is still loved by the fans and they still miss him even though, just like Arsenal fans say Van Persie left for money, Didier Drogba indeed left for money after trophy laded seasons with Chelsea. Drogba doesn’t need to win trophies. He has done it all, won everything the world of football has to offer and is now only looking forward to earn as much money as he can for a future where he’ll most probably end up as a Sky Sports pundit and analyst.

Now, Van Persie is also definitely leaving Arsenal with an abyss in heart after all the hate he has received from the fans over the 2 days as they burn his posters and jerseys. The exact same happened to Fernando Torres who the Liverpool fans believe left for money and no other reason. Looking at both this cases, you can clearly see that Torres came to Chelsea to win trophies which he has done this season as he won more trophies than City, United, Arsenal and Liverpool combined! Does he get hate now? Of course he does! But he knows there are Chelsea fans out there chanting his name with pride. What has Van Persie won other then an FA Cup in 2005?

He wants to win, every footballer out there wants to do that. You would find very few players like John Terry and Frank Lampard at Chelsea who would most definitely stay at the club even if we get relegated as they joined Chelsea with few aspirations as Roman Abramovich was then unknown. The days are over when it matters about a club and its reputation. Today it is all about the money, glamour and the pride of winning. We Chelsea fans can be happy that we have John and Frank with us who will be with us till the twilight stages of their career.

Once we become professional footballers, only then we will understand how the mind works, as we weigh our options. One would be that you stay at the club, earn a wage that is a joke to a player with a quality like yours, become immortal to the fans and suffer hate from other fans. Or you could move away, be adored by the fans, be called the best player out there, winning trophies soon becomes habitual and you become much more than what you could have achieved. What would you do, if you were in the board room facing your owners and trying your best to stay at the club you love but can’t because of the decisions taken by the club which makes Joey Barton look like a better player than you? Think again, you Gooners! Robin Van Persie is not the way the media thinks he is, don’t let them tarnish the image of your hero and legend.