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Making the Arsenal
By Anne
This is the concluding part of this article. Here are the earlier parts
The reason I personally feel confident in saying that neither Kees Vos nor Robin Van Persie had anything to do with writing his “statement” about leaving the clubis because the “statement” appears quite clearly to me to be only one component of a larger propaganda campaign, which was run using the same media network that is generally used to target Arsenal fans, and which was previously used for the “trophy drought”/”splash the cash” talking points campaign that Arsenal fans have become so familiar with, and which we have previously documented on Untold Media.
In conjunction with the publication of Robin Van Persie’s alleged “statement,” this same media network launched an apparent attack on Robin Van Persie, which was entirely predicated on this “statement.” I know this because I happened to be online when (or shortly after) the “statement” was published, so I saw the attack on Robin unfold from the beginning. And watching it that way, I don’t think it ever even occurred to me that the website “statement” might be authentic.
When it was first published, the one thing that caught my eye was that this Robin van Persie “statement” looked like it was being disseminated through the exact same media network as was previously used to attack Arsenal. And upon reading the “statement” itself, it immediately appeared to me to be serving as a template for the “transfer saga” media campaign.
Since the Robin van Persie “official website” has now been taken down, here is the original version of the “statement” that was published on the website. The only difference is that, on the website, these sentences were all grouped together in a paragraph format. However, I’ve chosen to separate them to demonstrate what I mean by “template,” and the reason that I keep putting the word “statement” in quotation marks:
“Update for the Fans
This is an update for the fans about my current situation..
I have kept quiet all this time out of respect and loyalty for the club and as agreed with Mr Gazidis and Mr Wenger, but since there is so much speculation in the media, I think it is fair for you guys to know what’s really going on at the moment.
As announced earlier this year I had a meeting with the boss and Mr. Gazidis after the season.
This was a meeting about the club’s future strategy and their policy.
Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.
I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days.
Out of my huge respect for Mr Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal should move forward.
I’ve thought long and hard about it, but I have decided not to extend my contract.
You guys, the fans, have of course the right to disagree with my view and decision and I will always respect your opinions.
I love the club and the fans, no matter what happens.
I have grown up and became a man during my time with Arsenal.
Everybody at the club and the fans have always supported me over the years and I have always given my all [and more] on and off the pitch.
I am very proud of being part of this fantastic club for the past eight years.
As soon as Mr Gazidis is back from his two-week holiday in America further meetings will follow and I will update you if and when there are more developments.”
I personally knew that this “statement” was fabricated the instant I saw it on the website, and the reason I knew is because it’s not really a statement at all. It’s a bunch of separate sentences that don’t really go together, are not connected by logic, and don’t even contain the basic connective language that people use when they talk to each other. Specifically, if Robin van Persie wanted to convey a message to Arsenal fans, it would not be phrased like this. And my initial impression upon reading this template for the accompanying media campaign was to wonder why they didn’t even try to make it sound like a real statement.
And it seems to me that the reason for this was because they were expecting Arsenal fans to simply take the media at its word, and to not go back and look at the original source of the “statement.” Because in the initial published media reports, these sentences were grouped together and presented in such a way that they do sound like a real statement.
However, this seems to have been a job that was delegated for the first wave of media coverage, because this group of disparate sentences did not sound like a real statement on the website itself. (For an example of the difference between the “statement” on the website and the statement as reported in the media, this article from the Guardian is a good representation of the coverage as a whole).
So, when I say that this “website statement” was serving as a “template,” what I mean is that each “statement” that “Robin” made was intended to serve as a basis for some specific message that had already been developed for dissemination through the media campaign. By examining the interplay between the “statement” itself and the media response, it is fairly obvious to me that both the “statement” and the media response are actually two different components of a single campaign, which were developed together.
Ergo, the real “author” of the “statement” is whoever is controlling the relevant media network, and developed that particular aspect of the campaign.
The general message of this campaign, which comes across to me as an attack on Robin Van Persie (although it could also be intended to send a different, private message to Arsene Wenger at times) appears to contain the following three basic components:
1) Robin Van Persie wants to force a transfer away from Arsenal;
2) Robin is a greedy mercenary who only cares about money (but wouldn’t mind a trophy either); and
3) Robin slagged off Arsenal and/or Arsenal fans
Basically, the first two components present the idea that Robin wants to force a transfer, and provides an apparent motive for doing so (he wants higher wages). And the third component appears intended to make Arsenal fans angry at RVP (presumably so that we’ll be happy to see Arsenal’s Captain off, with a kick on his way out the door).
This general message is conveyed to the public by taking the different parts of Robin’s “message” (I’m going to call it “the template” from now on), and responding to them with the correct, pre-determined responses. Incidentally, I believe that this particular tactical use of the “statement”/template is what Bleacher Report was referring to when they said that the “majority of stories covering the subject appear to lack facts and be based more on interpretation.”
The following article, published on the Fourth of July (almost immediately after the “statement” first appeared) serves as an excellent example of how a “statement” like this can be broken down into a template that can generate propaganda. The reason this article is such a good example is because it breaks down RVP’s entire “statement” into individual sentences (the way that I presented it above), and spins some kind of tactic off of each one of them.
And if you had any question about the propaganda intent behind the article, just take note of the headline and the opening sentence:
What Robin van Persie really meant in his statement about not renewing with Arsenal
“…Robin appears to be trying to achieve more with his statement than what his words actually say. So here now is a handy translation of what he is getting at.”
Basically, they’re using this template to generate a false media narrative that puts words into Robin’s mouth, which are tactically designed to turn Arsenal fans against Robin. This article provides one example of how it worked. The sentences from RVP’s “statement” (ie, the template) are in italics (although I recommend that you actually take a look at the article itself, because the formatting there makes the tactical use of the “statement” even more apparent).
“This is an update for the fans about my current situation.”
“This is how I’m going to force a transfer.”
“I have kept quiet all this time out of respect and loyalty for the club and as agreed with Mr. Gazidis and Mr. Wenger, but since there is so much speculation in the media, I think it is fair for you guys to know what’s really going on at the moment.”
“My agent has been planning this for awhile and just decided the market is ready for me, but I’m pretending this is for you.”
“Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.”
“Hahaha not!”
“I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days.”
“This is all true, but I’m saying it now, right after saying that money isn’t my priority, just to subtly remind you that Arsenal haven’t won a trophy since 2005 and so you won’t call me a mercenary. I hope. I mean, it’s not like any of you are doing your cruddy jobs for anything but the most money possible.”
“Out of my huge respect for Mr. Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.”
“I wanted them to spend like Man City and launch Gervinho into the sun, they said ‘no.’”
“I’ve thought long and hard about it, but I have decided not to extend my contract.”
“Come and get me hahahahaha!”
“You guys, the fans, have of course the right to disagree with my view and decision and I will always respect your opinions.”
“I will ignore your opinions.”
“I love the club and the fans, no matter what happens. I have grown up and became a man during my time with Arsenal FC.”
“Blah blah blah (this is just filler)…”
“Everybody at the club and the fans have always supported me over the years and I have always given my all (and more) on and off the pitch.
“Seriously, please don’t call me a mercenary, you guys.”
“I am very proud of being part of this fantastic club for the last 8 years. As soon as Mr. Gazidis is back from his 2-week holiday in America further meetings will follow and I will update you if and when there are more developments.”
“He might as well end his holiday now because I just ruined it. I will tell you when I’ve selected a new club. One that will actually win something and won’t lose to freaking Birmingham in the Carling Cup final.”
“Robin van Persie”
“I really mean it, don’t start calling me ‘Robin van Payme’ or whatever.”
Now that you’ve seen the above, as you go through news articles that make reference to this “statement” (or at least the ones from before they ended the “transfer saga”), take note of the writing style, which is generally to reference a “message” from the “statement” and provide the response, which tells you what you, as an Arsenal fan, are supposed to be thinking in response to Robin’s “announcement.” Once you know to look for it, you’ll pick up on it easily.
From here, I’m just going to go through and look at a few examples of the tactics and messages associated with particular parts of the template. To me, the following section is the most interesting tactically:
“I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days. Out of my huge respect for Mr. Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.”
The reason I find it interesting is because it references certain propaganda messages that have been used against Arsenal fans in the past, and which have had the effect of making fans angry at the purveyor of the message, and rallying in defense of Arsenal (as well as its new American owners) in response to a perceived outside threat (this would be the psychological impact of a false flag attack, essentially).
Specifically, the phrases “win trophies,” “bring the club back to its glory days,” and “disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward,” are loaded words for fans, and you could use them to spin off into a lot of different “AAA”-type messages that fans who love RVP would typically loathe (which is exactly what the media did here, apparently forgetting that, prior to the Fourth of July, they themselves were the primary disseminators of this AAA message, and that Arsenal fans loathe them above all other enemies. Well, I do, at least).
Basically, in examining the ways that such statements were used in this particular campaign, they actually torpedoed the entire propaganda message, because they’re so recognizable that they made the agenda transparent. Particularly in conjunction with the sort of reversal of message that was used here (basically, this campaign reversed the message that fans are accustomed to seeing, and attacked RVP with the old message).
And whatever the response in the comments section to this article might suggest, I could not possibly be the only person to have noticed what was going on here. The reason for that is because we’re all way too familiar with all of these “messages,” along with the media network that is typically used to disseminate them, to fail to notice when the exact same media network suddenly switches to the exact same message in reverse.
The following examples show some of the ways that this was done
1) “win trophies,” “bring the club back to its glory days,” and “disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward,”
*The following are some other running themes that recur throughout the message of this campaign:
-The 6 years that Robin spent sidelined by injury (ie, he’s turning his back on Arsenal when they didn’t turn their back on him)
-The horror of a player telling the management how to run the club (This “player power” concept isn’t as offensive to fans as they seem to think it is. At least, not taken at face value. Although we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that there is some kind of hidden agenda associated with this message as well).
-transfer spending, “trophy drought,” “ambition” (all have an AAA association)
Examples:
Ex. 1: “Whatever way you look at it, van Persie has put Arsenal in a horrible situation – the classic ‘rock and a hard place’ scenario. Arsène Wenger and the fans certainly deserve better. But who cares when you can win trophies? After all, winning is everything, right?”
This is basically just the “trophy drought” line in reverse here. Since Robin van Persie criticized Arsenal for its “trophy drought,” we’re supposed to turn against Robin and rally in defense of Arsenal. Personally, I find it very curious the way the message of this media campaign has suddenly shifted to favor Arsenal (and its new American owners), while remaining opposed to Arsenal’s own players. Very curious indeed.
Ex. 2: “But to pose and posture as if he is being forced out of the club by their lack of ambition is insulting hogwash at this time.”
More of the same. Poor, defenseless Arsenal has been attacked by the “evil super villain,” Robin van Persie.
Ex. 3: “He has no right to tell Wenger how to run the club..by effectively trashing the quality of Wenger’s summer signings”.
So, apparently, they now like Arsene Wenger again as well. And I also find it interesting here that they make reference to Arsene Wenger “running the club” (which he does not). Arsenal fans love
Arsene Wenger. So, if the decisions made by Arsenal’s new management were falsely portrayed as being made by Arsene Wenger instead, it might cause Arsenal fans to accept those decisions out of loyalty, when they would otherwise reject them out of logic. It’s an interesting concept, I think.
Incidentally, I find the following example to be highly amusing, based on the author’s interpretation of what a “real” Arsenal fan is supposed to sound like (while raging at Robin van Persie).
Ex. 4: “You didn’t seem too worried about the club’s ‘direction’ during those first six and a half seasons at Arsenal, did you—…But now, you consider yourself an authority on how a truly great sporting institution should be run?
No ordinary institution, may I remind you. An institution which made you who you are, an institution that has been around from well before the time your great-grandfather existed, and one that will stand proud and glorious while you become a mere bookmark on Wikipedia.”
Yes, the media sure loves Arsenal now. (And also appears to be attempting to reinforce the notion that Arsenal is exactly the same as it always was, despite the fact that Arsenal has actually undergone some rather dramatic changes recently).
Ex. 5: “Just who does he think he is to try to dictate transfer policy and strategy to one of the best managers in English football history?”
And they worship Arsene Wenger. So why the attack on Arsenal’s Captain?
Ex. 6: “Is this step one of your master plan to ‘bring the club back to its glory days?’ by effectively saying that the manager and CEO don’t know how to run Arsenal FC? When, dear Robin, did you attain mastery over the running of a football club? ”
It sounds to me like what the media are really defending here is the decision-making of the people who are dictating Arsenal’s transfer policy these days. But why would that be? And who exactly are they defending?
2) Arsenal “fans.”
In the template, “Robin” directed his statement to the “fans,” and made many “statements” extolling Arsenal fans. These “statements” were presented in conjunction with“statements” that could also be taken as hurtful and offensive to fans. There are a lot of different ways that you could make use of this, and spin it to turn Arsenal fans against Robin. The following are some examples from the media response of how they appear to have used this aspect of the template tactically:
Ex. 1: “Yes, that ‘Update For The Fans,’ as you so patronizingly called it.Honestly, we, the REAL Arsenal fans, would have been happier without it. Terrible idea.
Apparently, “the REAL Arsenal fans” are now publishing articles on Bleacher Report.
Ex. 2:
“So you kept quiet because you are sooooo loyal and then decide to throw that out the window due to some media speculation!? Nope, not buying it.“
I’m “not buying it” either. Glad we could agree on something.
Ex. 3: “Many Arsenal fans will be wondering why Van Persie decided to take things public instead of showing more respect for the club and for their fans.”
Yes, I’m sure that “many Arsenal fans” are, in fact, wondering “why?” Although I think that the author of this article might be asking the wrong questions.
Ex. 4: “Let’s get one thing straight. Robin van Persie’s statement was not ‘for the fans’, as he so lovingly professed, but for himself….
At 4.02 pm on July 4, Van Persie’s value in football’s over-inflated transfer market was worth around £25million to Arsenal. At 4.03pm when he delivered his slap in the face, sorry, update, to the fans, that had decreased by more than fifth.
Not quite the act of someone who loves the club.”
This one is interesting to me. Because the part about the value of the player in “football’s over-inflated transfer market” isn’t, in my opinion, something that an Arsenal fan would be likely to think about when defending Arsenal against a perceived attack. Which leads me to believe that there might have been some other tactical reason for inserting this type of language into the media narrative.
And one idea that occurs to me is that the possible motive for inserting such language could be to simply reinforce the public perception that business in the EPL transfer market is still being conducted in the traditional way. This would be necessary if, for example, someone was attempting to make changes to the way transfer business was being conducted without the public noticing.
And in my opinion, this is something to keep an eye on going forward, given the dramatic shifts in ownership that have occurred in English football in recent years. Surely the new owners will be wanting to change other things as well? And to what extent are they all working together towards a common goal?
3) Money and Mercenary:
In the template, “Robin” goes out of his way to specifically note that his decision is not motivated by money. This “statement” serves no logical function in its context, but did provide the basis to generate news reports claiming that “Robin’s” decision to leave was, in fact, motivated by money. The following is the phrasing from the template itself:
“Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.”
As you can see, the original phrasing is actually written to sound sarcastic. (And I personally wonder if this sarcasm might possibly have had a double meaning. Think about that one.).
Examples from media response:
Ex. 1: ‘Financial terms aren’t my priority,’ claimed the Arsenal captain, however he seems to be chasing the money — we all know that —”
Ex. 2: “since his priority was not financial terms or contract than we can expect to see him sign elsewhere for substantially less than he was making here. Yeah right.”
Ex. 3: “The Arsenal captain made a point to establish that his reasons for wanting to leave the club are motivated by the desire for success rather than the want of financial gain, but this is unlikely to wash with the majority of Gunners fans.”
Ex. 4: “Van Persie, they will say, has had his head turned by the riches of Manchester City, and has prioritised increasing his salary over staying loyal to the club where he has forged his name.”
Incidentally, have we heard anything about what kind of wages Robin is receiving from Manchester United?
If anyone would like to see additional examples of tactics or anything else, just check the media coverage beginning on the Fourth of July (and ending around the time my initial article alleging fabrication was published). You’ll find more examples than you know what to do with. Based on this analysis, I hope it’s clear now why I’ve been saying that it would be impossible for Robin Van Persie (or his agent) to have written this “statement.”
Specifically, the reason for this is because the “statement” and the media response were quite clearly coordinated in advance. The instant that this “statement” appeared, the media was ready to go, with a pre-planned response to each segment of the “statement.”
Therefore, the “statement” could not have been written by Robin van Persie or his agent Kees Vos. Rather, the “statement” had to have been written by whoever is controlling the same media network that is being used to run the larger “transfer saga” media campaign.
And if you don’t want to take my word on that, you can always listen to this master of mystery:
“This, I’m sorry to say, is just not acceptable, and is a sign of the times we live in with football players becoming much bigger than their clubs, and in some cases the sport itself.
Van Persie had a truly sensational last 18 months, and I’m sure all of us Gooners owe him big time. But honestly, who is he to ‘disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward?’ When I last checked, he was club captain. Was there a mid-term promotion to Chief Strategic Officer? Preposterous!
Unless this is the mother of all website hacking jobs—I’m really clutching at straws, aren’t I?— it is clear that RVP must be sold immediately. I’d rather he went outside the Premier League, not because I’m worried he’ll make Manchester City stronger, but so that he can be out of sight and out of mind to the greatest extent possible.”
That was Bleacher Report again. Their subtlety and nuance in conveying sarcasm would truly make William Shakespeare weep, wouldn’t it?
The above article also gives me the opportunity to segway into my analysis of Bacary Sagna’s recently reported comments, and how they fit into this same existing media narrative. That will be covered in the next segment of this series.
You’ve got too much time on your hands. Who cares about the statement, it’s history, move on and stop wasting your time probing into pointless issues!
Too long, didnt read
Who Cares, Move on. Lets stop wasting time and energy chasing ghosts. The ONLY thing that will put all of this nonsense to bed is for the club to return to winning ways in terms of trophies, this will be achieved by the Club, players & most importantly the fans remaining focussed and united. Everything else is just a side show driven by haters with an agenda.
Gooner Glory
If he didn’t write it then why didn’t he come out with a denial?
RVP’s new house near Alderly Edge has already had work done on it to suit him and his family, with a room converted to play pool and table tennis. This doesn’t happen overnight, so I suspect he had been planning the move to Manchester for a while.
This article reminds me of the Eric Morecambe line “I’m playing all the right notes—but not necessarily in the right order.” I’ve read this twice and still have no idea what it’s about.
If this was a false statement on a false website, why did Van Persie link to it on his official twitter account and why was there no denial?
Who sent u on this errand of dissecting what rvp said or not. The man in question has left & u are still drawing us back. I’m beginning to suspect u as a joy killer on behalf of mancity we are playing soonest. If not then take this ur lecture to a serene environment meant for students.
I’m sure there is an anti Arsenal agenda in parts of the Media, and personally avoid the Bleacher report like the plague. However it seem to me there are two things we can consider to be fact.
1) RVP and his agents made no attempt to deny the authenticity of the website or statement.
2) RVP now plays for ManU and is being paid more.
If the statement was not authored by RVP or his agent, then it certainly seems to have been a remarkably convenient coincidence for them.
What a waste of time writing this article has been. Who are you claiming wrote RVP’s blog? As CB says above, RVP would have denied it if it had been AW or Gazidis black arts in operation. My personal conspiracy theory is that it was written for RVP by Usmanov’s publicity team in its continuing effort to destablise the present Arsenal management.
He’s a greedy scumberg…….
Nice work but who give a phuck. He is manur at this point. Write something on Poldi, Santi, even the Ox for love of God. We have a great team so sooooo long dutch donkey.
So are you now paid to do damage control? If he never wrote it, he had time to deny that statement came from him but he never did. He never even came out to address the fans…so good attempt but no thanks….he’s gone and we are looking past him.
Written by van Persie or not, fabricated or not, the key issue is that van Persie never once retracted any part of the statement nor did he ever deny it was indeed his statement. The end result was he got the move he apparently wanted and the rest is internet blogging piffle.
I’m really struggling to get the point you are trying to make, apart from what appears to be a suggestion of a rather strange conspiracy theory. To what end? To defame or besmirch van Persie? Either van Persie wanted to leave or he didn’t. If he didn’t he had ample opportunity to deny or correct this statement. It is clear now that he did indeed want to leave and in that case it wouldn’t really have mattered what he said or how he phrased any comments or messages as he was always going to be berated by many Arsenal fans precisely along the lines you have discussed above. They certainly wouldn’t have needed any guidance from a fabricated propaganda based message to make exactly the same points. And it just doesn’t really matter any more.
I peronally dont care whether he wrote that statement or not. All i know he didnt sign his contract and fucked off to utd! So fuck him.. We are The Arsenal and will win things without him.COYG
I’m inclined to agree, if he or his agent didn’t put this out, then where was the retraction? where was the denial or the distancing away from the statement? I can buy that his agent put this out, with or without his approval, but to point to some media conspiracy against Arsenal is ridiculous when a simple statement denouncing the first would have put all this to rest. this defence of the traitorous former captain (get that through your head, he was the captain and thus held to a higher standard) is nothing but drivel.
Guys, you might as well give up. In the last 3 articles Anne has written on this topic she’s steadfastly refused to answer (or even acknowledge) the question, “Why hasn’t he denied it?”
She also hasn’t acknowledged that van Persie linked to this statement from his official twitter account. There is just no point in raising that “inconvenient truth” with her because it does not fit into her conspiracy theory.
To Anne, I suggest you look up “Occam’s razor”. I respect your passion and past contributions to this site, but come on, you have really gone out on a limb here. You seem unwilling to brook any challenge to your theory, and in doing so, I think you’ve really painted yourself into a corner. After all, reasonable people can agree to disagree, but you are being completely unreasonable.
This is just an attempt to exonerate RVP and revive his dented image with Arsenal fans but it wont work. RVP is dead in Arsenal fans mind. Forget it.
We are even happy that unlucky ones like him have left the club and things seeems to be working after their “demise”.
ADIEU RVP
Lads get a life get over it hes gone r yis not sick ofit ez a man u man now so fck m podolskisd future robins d past COYG
Arsene said something like, sometimes people do things that surprise you, regardding RVP. RVP engineered a move to United. In the words of Fergie that is what “the boy” wanted.
At the end of the day, even if you wrote it, why would a man want something he did not say to mar his character? surely you would want to clear your name. No, he did not do what most sensible people would do in this situation, he used it to his advantage.
I am not sure but to date has RVP even said thanks to AFC?
who really cares any more. Arsenal FC have move Forward. Put a sock in it.
Anne give it up. There is always propaganda when engineering moves and it has the ring of Darren Dein to the statement.
But that makes no difference as the only part of the statement that we know is true is that RVP chose to condone it or write it.
Oh yeah I support the club because players and managers come and go but Arsenal Abides!
It’s unbelivable that a captain of a club comes out to critize and destroy where he was buttered and bread in public just because he wanted to force a transfer.Even wenger said it that he doubted the interview was given by Van persea because its shows he lack respect for the club and he was clearly motivated by money.Here are the reasons: 1. what’s kes voes doing at the Ethihad during season with Brian marwood. 2 how did the media knows that van persea want 220k a week during the season. 3 what did balotelli said concerning him when city looks like the likely destination.was he not in carling cup team that lose to birmingham,all these quote are just way to pay arsenal back? Arsenal fustrated city and juve but he ended up in united who never wanted him before when he would have stayed despite the signings made by wenger, he simply sold himself to clubs,”come and get me please am available” surely expect the luis figo incident that occured at the camp nou when he move to rival club real madrid when united visit the emirate.Robin is an ingrate and will eat his words soon.
Anne,
Without doubt, your depth of reasoning is a flattery to many folks, let alone, womanhood
Should we necessarily ask this question, particularly for those who find it difficult to look at the other side of the coin “Where would RVP have been if that statement had not been released?”
The fact is whether the statement was released or not, Wenger would have sold RVP simply because the probability of him signing anytime after the closure of the transfer window is very remote.
Having established the above, we may well ask, “Did RVP or his agent knew of the above?” if they know, that means it will be irrational for them to release the statement. This effectively negates any ideology that RVP or his agents released the statement.
The next question will be “What is the intended purpose of the statement?” From what Anne has proven so far she only unveils a part of the jigsaw that we are all wanting to piece together.
I want to draw our attention to something that I’ve found very intriguing. “Which team in the world has the largest share in the internet blogosphere?” It may be difficult to answer but as at my last count Arsenal has over 100blogs directly or indirectly linked with it. This positions Arsenal as one of, if not the club with the largest share. As astonishing as this stat may look, it baffles me further that no other club as been susceptible to so many negative remarks and propaganda like Arsenal. Ranging from the print media to the e-media, Arsenal seems to balance on both extremities of positive and negative bias albeit, the negative bias is perhaps too much than any club can bear.
Looking back to the position Arsenal occupies in the ‘comity’ of elite clubs, it is such an enviable position that any powerhouse would want to wield. Of the top four clubs in the EPL, only Arsenal is not owned outrightly by a single individual and still remains the most profitable, predisposing it complete ownership attempts, but however, the way the club is run makes it difficult for any such attempt to see the light of the day. For anybody bent on doing this, the best way out is to create a propaganda, and the best channel is the media.
What makes all this interesting is that power play and an undying love for money is at its route. The current largest share holder in Arsenal is not interested in any of this, but someone definitely is.
Somehow, with patience, we’ll see where this whole saga is leading us
As many have opined, this was globally circulated. Why did ho not deny it?
If folks globally were attributing comments to me, I would deny it and be done with it.
That name rvp makes me sick now, whatever may have happened this guy was not clean. Someone may have written that statement but obviously it was with this guys blessing, hence the silence.. You may be right in saying he didn’t write that himself, it was written by someone who clearly wanted to turn the fans against the club, but whoever this person was was working with rvp. His departure hurt, and its time to move on.
rvp had more then a year to sort his cotract out he refused to he waited for the window and ran he never once said he was looking to re-sign or never denied that he was leaving arsenal if you want to stay at a club you would not act like this one would say i would be happy to extend my contract and stay at this club or i will extend after we sorted out my contract something along those lines bt nooo he said ill sit down with wenger over a cup of tea and talk, that does not sound convincing enough of a player who in his heart wants to stay if he would have said after we will sit down over tea and sort my contract out then i WILL sign at least he would be indicating he was looking to sign on but not once in the whole season he said he will sign on there is no bigger clue then that to suggest he knew he wanted to leave the whole year.
Wow, can’t believe you spent so much time and effort with this article. However, it’s beyond conspiracy theory, it’s pure desperation on your part, trying to come to terms with the greedy badgers departure. Give it and move on, most of us were over it by the 4th of July…
This site now reminds me of le grove just another extreme. Time to look elsewhere me thinks. Wish you good luck and goodbye.
Why does it all have to be such a “jigsaw”?
Your over thinking it. Your making it more complicated because you don’t like the truth. But wanting something to be true doesn’t make it so.
It’s all pretty straight forward. RVP wanted to leave. His agent talked him into releasing a statement on his official website – yes his official website, which RVP linked to from his official Twitter account. Wenger tried to salvage the situation for a bit, then sold him for a decent sum to Manchester United. End of story.
The conspiracy theory requires that things become a jumbled jigsaw. It requires that we re-parse and reinterpret every line of RVPs statement, that we ignore that he linked to it himself from his official Twitter account, that we believe many bloggers and media pundits were in on it in some way, and that we believe the website was set up by some mysterious third party. It’s all so convoluted and bordering on absurdity. Actually it’s not bordering on absurdity, it is absurd.
Let’s take the most compelling component of Anne’s argument. Robin van Persie’s website is down for maintenance. SO WHAT. You can see darker meaning in that if you want, but its far more reasonable to assume its being overhauled to remove Arsenal content. I’m sure RVP is plenty busy with his new club and his new life. I’m sure a rebranded website isn’t high on his list.
At the end of the day, the conspiracy theorists have no answer to the fact that RVP has never once denied that the site was his. They have no answer to the fact that RVP has never denied the statement he made.
Is anyone else bothered that a series of absurd articles like this are allowed on this site?
For me, it calls into question the legitimacy of the entire site, including the Ref Reviews, which until now I took on face value as un-biased and trustworthy. But if they allow this kind of conspiracy theory to be published, then how balanced can they really be?
@Timmy – good comment…a very palusible reason for the media bias against us!
Barring Shitty, Chelski and Manure and Shitty, name one club who would not want to exchange places with us in the league and our financial situation in general (including the names mentioned). Why do our supporters give into the negative media portrayal is the more pertinent question to ask!
The web site robinvanpersie.com is registered to Sports Entertainment Group International, the agents/representatives for RVP. Neither challenged the veracity of the page.
@Asif, the issue here is be it within family, society, nation, or a group like the fan base of any entity, the people occupying this entities remain the easiest target for such virile tool as propaganda. The fact is 99% of most people will never bother to substantiate any claim they read on any media. So we should just ask, if fans are giving in, isn’t it an indication that they are just also giving in to a bigger plan?
FFS people, move on!
It doesn’t matter wether the statement is true or false and it doesn’t matter if the guy engineered a move to Manu or not, the fact is he is gone and arsenal made 24 million for their troubles.
I think we must start looking to the future and herald the new kings of arsenal, as podolski, gervinio and cazorla (excuse my spelling) are in fine form. Arteta is brilliant as usual, the ox and diaby along with wilshire and Ramsey give us a strong midfield. Guriud will come good.
All RVP has done has changed the firm he works for, for better pay, they are not better working conditions and without him Manu would have had 1 point out if their first 3 games. I think they needed him more than we did. I believe in arsenal this season as for the first time we have a team rather than the reliance on one individual to score the goals.
What we as fans of arsenal need to do is to stop reading articles like caught off side or any of the other arsenal hating media. Only read genuine arsenal supporting articles like untold and we will be a lot better informed.
@Jez
You’re right about wishing our fans didn’t read all these other anti-Arsenal rags. Trouble is almost every other media outlet is so anti us that it needs an analytical brain not to believe everything they throw at you. Because of this(multiple sources of negative reporting), many of our fans end up bashing the club. I just wonder why we are hated so much; the media, the refs, etc. Is it because Wenger just came ‘out of nowhere’ to challenge the establishment? Sad really.
Hi Anne,
I have only read half of this (extensive) article so far and from what you have written, I have come to the conclusion that the most viable story is RVP instructed his agents to make it so / fabricate a story that removes RVP from blame and doesn’t turn the fans against him (backfired to a degree though). I get the impression that it was a case of ‘if you want to earn a fee out of me, that is what you need to do, otherwise i’mnot leaving’.
Last time I checked in a dictionary there was a difference in the meaning of ‘writing’ and ‘approving’.
A couple of weeks or so after His transfer the site still showed him in Arsenal colours. Even if the site, in the end, only existed for said statement that is a little odd. That was before the, um, the maintenence. If I was paying someone a commission I’d expect them to do their job. Crazy, I know.
Adah Emma & others complaining that the RVP saga is still being brought up.
It’s worth considering that the long term view of this series should maybe be not about the RVP situation itself but about Arsenal players moving on in General. How did Cesc, Nasri, Clichy, Henry and all the others leave? What initiated their departures? How do we really know the RVP saga is the first of its kind and the last? It’s worth discussing IMO as there are many questions that will repeat themselves. If you are not interested, simply do yourself a favour and don’t read them.
Im sorry but im lost, I have read every word but still can’t work out, Who shot JFK.
At least point us in the rough direction of what you mean. Im lost as to the point you try to make.
If you think Sky have something to do with engineering a move for the prems player of the year to their flag ship team then say so.
But please remember he had to sign and that can’t be faked.
I’m reading an account of Albert Spalding’s baseball tour around the world in the late 1880’s. Among the players was a John Ward, President of the fledgling players’ union at the time. What he wrote obviously was to do with concerns for player’s welfare and livelihood, but I found it interesting enough to want to share. He was speaking about the baseball league’s ‘reserve’ rule, which allowed clubs to retain 5 of its players (any 5) for next season. This was before players were allowed to run down contracts and move in free agency.
Ward wrote, :Instead of an institution for good, it has become one for evil; instead of a measure of protection, it has been used as a handle for the manipulation of a traffic in players, a sort of speculation in live stock, by which they are bought, sold, and transferred like so many sheep. In it’s development it has gone on from one usurpation to another until it has grown so intolerable as to threaten the present organization of the game.”
The club owners’ response to these sorts of statements, and demands for change, was to discredit the players, and bring up how much more than the working class fans the players earned.
Although player power has increased, and in some cases gone to another extreme, the modern day transfer market reads very much like Ward’s description of the reserve rule in baseball. Oh and baseball was among the first major sports to find itself embroiled in corruption and match fixing. Although the only ones punished for that were a few players, in some cases, unfairly it seems.
Stuart, you are quite right, what is important is the possibility of manipulation behind the scene and not just RVP.
We are all sick of RVP, but he has gone, we may see him twice a season in his new guise with the Manchester Divers; apart from that we can happily forget him.
But those who may have been involved in manipulation remain and it those persons or interests that Anne is concerned with. Unfortunately some readers have not grasped that fact.
I think Anne is correct that RVP did not write his 04 July statement, that he did not withdraw it could be because he saw it as route to a large payrise at Arsenal, or, a transfer and associated large payrise elsewhere. Either way he and his agent/advisor stood to gain – in addition the manipulator (if separate from agent/advisor) would gain if the final outcome matched the manipulator’s intended outcome.
Interestingly, the disgraceful Usmanov statement followed fairly quickly after RVP’s. Was he being opportunistic and using the situation to further his ambitions, or was there more to it?
Anne is quite right to draw our attention to the behaviour of the media during this episode. I have noted for quite some time how the anti Arsenal media close ranks and continuously snipe at the club. Their sudden praise for the club and simultaneous attack on RVP was totally out of character – the question is why? Such a change over betrays the fact that behind the scene there was a plan & someone stood to gain a lot when it succeeded – at our expense.
let’s move on.
Robin has gone it’s true and we are all concentrating on our new players and how well they are playing with the rest of the team. And it is a team to be excited about.
So I understand people who say “Move on.”
But we should only move on providing we are alert to the way the media operates in relation to Arsenal. The Bacary Sagna case is more recent and Bacary is still with us. Arsene Wenger specifically referred to a ‘twisted article’ quoting Sagna. This sort of thing is not over, not by a long chalk.
@ Doc Brody
I was going to comment on this article as I have for the last couple, but then I read yours and realised you had already summed my feelings up perfectly. Thanks.
I agree that these articles have unquestionably damaged the credibility of the site, which is a shame. Desperate, pathetic and paranoid. There are real issues with media attitudes towards and bias against Arsenal and Wenger, but articles like this just help to perpetuate the idea that us gooners are a whining paranoid bunch.
I now have untold filed under ‘dont bother clicking’, with likes of le grunt and the like
Some very interesting points. A lot of RVPS behaviour this summer on first reading makes no sense. If he just wanted to leave for trophies, money or whatever why did he not just say so without slagging off the team, club and manager. Arteta left for CL Football, but openly retains great affection for everton, which is clearly reciprocated, why could rvp not do that? I would not rule out the influence of the media and others in this, but personally, I believe, like cesc, he thinks a lot of the club but felt he had to behave like a complete arsehole to get a move. Without that statement, I firmly believe the club would have kept him until jan to help others bed in, he knew this, and could not risk an injury and lessening his, and his agents pot. I also believe that ultimately, wenger and the club were maybe more relaxed about him leaving than they were letting,on, his injury record makes a big contract a huge gamble, a short termist signing, and one I am surprised utd made. In contrast to wenger last summer, he seemed almost sanguine over VP. IS it possible VP was told by the club that to get a move, there would be a price, and that price was a VP Induced severance from the fans, the club and everything they once held in common? After all, if the club were wary of giving him a bumper contract, VPS statement made things very easy for them, putting any blame square on his shoulders. There is more to this than meets the eye. His legacy, a talented player who over did the self inflicted injuries at times, but worked up to the season of his life which gave us a miracle third place last season. He surely does not hold the club in the contempt registered in that statement, but a lack of retraction makes him responsible whoever wrote it, and unfortunately he will always be remembered for that. A tainted legacy. A great player, but are we really weaker for his loss? Maybe too early to decided but there is a new team orientated spirit about the place, and early signs are good.
@Doc Brody
Sums up everything I am thinking!
Van Persie broke the news about his public statement on twitter. He did it first, no media knew it before his tweet.
And it’s from his OFFICIAL VERIFIED TWITTER account. So it’s impossible for he to not approve (if not written by him) this statement before publishing it.
So the whole conspiracy theory Anne tried hard to put for me has no ground by ignoring this ultimate fact. Why Anne keeps ignoring this fact is unbelievable.
Rafael: See ya, dont let the door hit you on the way out.
Let me say that my personal opinion is the following:
RVP wanted out so he or someone wrote the statement and the rest is history. He is at Manure now and that is what most people think, so feck him.
HOWEVER, we are forgetting one thing and that this site is not called Untold Arsenal for nothing!
Remember when they started the Ref Reviews or the corruption articles? In the beginning we all thought whats the point, it balances out in the end and we are fans so we only see a ‘blinkered story’ etc. But since then we can see that the Refs are terrible, rubbish, incompetent or (whisper it) Corrupt! Untold opened a can of worms and we know that it is being read by the PGMOL or BBC (right, Tony?).
So many stories out there could have been put to bed and forgotton about but some Journo didnt give up, dug deep and BAM, can of worms again.
If Anne wants to keep this going then it is her time and she can what she wants with it, we don’t have to read it if we don’t want (like Rafael) but don’t discredit the article.
I might also find it a bit boring, but I also find Ref Reviews a bit boring too, doesnt meant they are not on to something. Give it some time and she might uncover something.
You might say this ‘Anne, you wont uncover anything great, if it was not RSVP then his agent, so what he is gone’ no can of worms there, right?
But I think that the unknown or ‘Untold’ (if you will), is more interesting if it uncovers something… cos it will be out of this world.
Or not of course..
Thanks for this series of of the RIP transfer saga, Anne .
It must have been very time consuming and exhausting for you to put this article out and I beleive that this play is far from over .My admiration for your endurance has trebled !
Well done !
Like most I was pissed off with him at the beginning and did rant at first, but still felt that there was something going on that I still cannot fully understand .
As someone earlier had mentioned “Black Ops “, I am not inclined to believe it ,but would not rule out an “agent provocateur ” facilitating the move. For whose gain, we may not know .
Why so many calls for us to “move on ” ? If you have so moved on ,good for you .Let the rest of us linger on here for a while and look for some answers ( I have all the time !).
Once again Anne , thanks for a job well done and am awaiting the Sagna chronicles!
Maybe you are right Anne. But you can’t ignore three of the most important facts to the story.
1) The site is owned by the company of his representatives.
2) He posted a link to it on his offical twitter account.
3) At no point has he ever denied writing or agreeing to publish the statement.
I can’t take your article seriously until you take a stance to these hard facts. Even if 1 and 3 were taken out of the equation, the 2nd point kinda cancels the whole conspiracy theory.
Fedda,
about 2 I can say that even my meaningless twitter account has been hacked a few weeks ago. And I even didn’t know about it if it hadn’t been for someone asking me what the hell I was twittering.
So it can be done if you know how to do it and if people can hack phone lines, they can hack twitter accounts I think.
In general about these 3 articles:
There is no doubt there is something strange in this whole thing. Who did what is something that we will probably never know.
Did RVP get what he wanted?
Money wise? YES!!!!!!
But for the rest I really wonder if he is “a happy little boy”. Of course he is a football player so when he can play he will be happy. But I really wonder if down deep inside he feels good about what happened.
I have been following him from my position abroad and speaking the same language as he I can hear other things when he is in Holland for his national team. And I noticed a big change in him and also how he is looked upon in Holland.
His move didn’t make him popular at all. I think the whole football world in Holland (where he always was a bit an outsider because of him being from Feyenoord and not from Ajax or PSV) is not happy with how things went. I remember in the past when he played for Arsenal how he got praised. But now there is some chillness when they take about him. You could almost feel the bad feelings underneath the surface of pundits. They don’t say that they feel he is a traitor but it is more a feeling that you get when you hear them speak about him. I could be wrong about it of course but as I have the same mother language and I always try to look at the Dutch TV when they give football as their pundits are much much better than the ones from Belgium I know them a bit.
This week they wanted to explicitly show how he screwed up a few times in the game MU – Galatasary in the CL. A bad control that ruined a possible chance was highlighted (maybe the game was that bad it was the only “highlight”;-) ) and I just got the feeling that they were sharping their knifes to stab him as soon as they really would be able to do it. You could almost taste the hidden pleasure of him screwing up. Something I have never noticed before when he played for Arsenal.
I also noticed a big change in his personality. I think up to March he was very open and he was twittering and talking. And suddenly it stopped. And now his twitter account (I still follow him out of curiosity) is mostly dead.
I think they had a big pay check plan in their head about getting silly money from Arsenal and dictating which players to buy. It all backfired. It went in a direction he didn’t really wanted himself. But once the wheels were running he couldn’t or didn’t dare to stop them.
So now he lives somewhat hidden away from the rest of the world. Most football supporters look down upon him (even other team supporters boo him because they feel he has done the undo able).
Do I feel sorry for him? Not really. He always has given the impression of being rather smart so he should have known what he was doing.
I feel bad because he has been unfaithful to the image he had created of himself. An image many believed in (even I) but that is now in the (black) garbage bag ready to throw away on the dump of fallen football heroes.
And unfortunately the theo chronicles
@stuart
If there is one area of the transfers of Clichy/Nasri/RVP where the media’s anti Arsenal narrative has been effective in disrupting Wenger’s project, it is that either these players started to believe the narrative themselves, and that they would never win silverware at the emirates*, or that it became a useful smokescreen for them to hide their real motives, a massive pay rise.
*Ultimately winning silverware is mostly the responsibility of the players, and if these players could not do it for Arsenal, and they believed the media hype about lack of ambition, then they were really looking for a cushy number where their failings could be masked and covered by other players or a bigger squad.
He once trod our turf
Now he’s a gona
For more than he’s werf
No longer a goona
Soon he’ll regret it
So for him be sad
Never let him forget it
Things here wernt so bad
One day he’ll return
But not as a goona
His big money he’ll earn
Our greeting, much coola
It’s the goona’s who stay
Who love the game
Not the gona’s who play
Leaving with a bad name
They come and they go
Leaving in a few seasons
We’ve seen em, we know
Who go for right reasons
The real goonas with cred
Who pay money to cheer
And are through and through Red
We’ll always be here
If we tore up our contract
And went up the road
With no further contact
Who’d bear the cash load?
Where would they be
The high rollers who go?
They’d be up a gum tree
With nothing to show
Let’s beat his new team
In the league and the cup
And spoil his dream
Of scooping them up
So gooners, move on
Finally put this to bed
Just display cups we’ve won
This season instead
I hope this poem is useful
Walter.
Of course that is a real possibility, but then you can look to point 3. If my twitter was hacked, i would be quick to reveal it. RvP left the statement on the top of his twitter page for a long time, he surely must have known it was there.
@Walter, it’s still on his twitter page.
@Walter
Interesting points, I assume Bergkamp has a huge reputation in Holland due to his ability and loyalty.
RVP has blown the chance to be all-time highest scorer, statue outside the stadium, anyone saying what a legend he is, what a great bloke he is etc etc, as these things won’t happen at ManU.
He uprooted his settled kids for the extra cash. He didn’t listen to his little boy inside – http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/arsenal/98438/snapshot-the-young-robin-van-persie-circa-1996.html despite what he says. I thought he was brighter and had great family support and advice. It appears not, the advice he received was poor in my opinion. As he has blown it.
There’s some outstanding muppetry in these comments!
Anne,
Your task is sisyphean in nature. I also don’t think you make your point clearly enough.
If I’ve understood correctly then this summary may help:
Someone or some organisation put a prepared statement in front of RvP, which he then endorsed; The purpose, as was explained to RvP was to ‘pull a Rooney’ on Arsenal; The actual purpose, was to start yet another wave of attacks against Arsenal and drive a wedge between the star striker and the fans.
Why is this interesting? Because it represents a new avenue of attack. Who’s to say the next target won’t be Wilshire or the Ox, young English players that the club can use as pawns against the FA & their lapdogs PGMOL.
well…RVP is no more a gunner.
BUT we have our Wilshere back in training. Now this is worth a celebration. I am waiting to see the midfield trio of Ramsey Wishere and Frimpong in action together…..capitol one cup may be….
Frimpong being injured was a real shame. He was doing a passable impression of his hero, Michael Essien, for Wolves right up until he got injured.
Then he was doing a perfect impression of him on the sidelines…
Since we’re on the subject of RvP, I thought it interesting to compare RvP to Podolski. There are some similarities, both are nominally strikers, who like to play on the left side (due to their preferred leg) who make a habit of playing very deep and storming the box. At the moment, Opta stats (courtesy of whoscored.com) rate Podolski as the superior player. Podolski makes more passes, finds a teammate with a higher percentage of them, looses the ball less, scores when he wants…
Honestly, we’ve ripped Manure off, £24 million, you’re having a laugh.
It’s really strange the way I’m feeling (these last days) about reading an article on Untold. Just half don’t want see it, half still care about it in some aspect.
I am sure I cannot really forget Persie and believe that he’s not really happy. But I’ve already moved on in some way because I appreciate present as well as our players we have now. There are always things and persons for me to put my faith in. Someone leaves and you cherish the ones stay more. That’s always my way of thinking and feeling.
Do your job if you see the need of doing it, Anne. Everyone has his right to see things his own way. Looking forward to your coming posts.
Interesting to see an awful lot of comments in the first couple of hours from posters whose names I don’t remember, all of whose comments revolve around a few issues, many of which don’t actually address the article itself. It’s as if there were some concerted campaign to shape opinion on what Anne was saying…you know, talking points and all that. Looks like she’s hit somebody’s nerve straight on. There are certainly some obscurities in her argument, but to me the most convincing bit of evidence that she’s probably right is the amount of new posters saying she’s wrong, stupid, misinformed, and le-grovish, and that ergo Untold is rubbish. Is there some astroturfing at work here?
That said, I do think that RVP’s failure to disown the statement is important and ought to be acknowledged and explained. Perhaps he gave permission, perhaps he simply saw it and recognized it could help force a move. What do you think, Anne? (BTW, how dare you challenge the dominant narrative? You should just let sleeping dogs lie, you know)
El Gringo,
I’m sure Dogface has a database of all posters IP addresses vs e-mails with a nice bit of SQL to spot any suspicious activity.
I’m not ruling out the fact that there are an unfathomable amount of idiots out there, have you seen YouTube comments?
El Gringo,
As I was “on duty” short after the release of this article on Untold I was overwhelmed with new people commenting for the first time. I let a few out which were a bit rude (or rude over the top) but they were coming in faster than I could approve them. Something I only witnessed when I wrote a rather comical article this summer that many didn’t understand and took for real.
I thought it to be a coincidence but I never thought of it like that… 😉
@El Gringo
Heroic argument, you should be a spin doctor.
In summary:
1. blogger posts something obscure, poorly argued, controversial and wrong about someone that has left the club
2. lots of people point this out
3. because lots of people comment that gives ‘the most convincing bit of evidence that she’s probably right’
4. ergo, lots of people are attacking Untold (rather than defending it from shoddy blogging)
You have a great career in front of you defending the indefensible, my advice is to head straight into politics (if you aren’t there already).
Speaking of a reversal in how the media portrays Arsenal, for the past few years, you wouldn’t have seen any such article as this
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/in-footballs-court-arsene-wengers-judged-a-success-but-the-jurys-out-on-mancini-8163274.html
Oh no, Jens Lehmann is now joining in the media conspiracy http://news.arseblog.com/2012/09/lehmann-goes-to-town-on-van-persie/
I bet the same people that forced RVP to make that statement and link to it via Twitter have corrupted our Invincibles goalie. The b*stards.
Worth another article or two I reckon.
Clever CB is clever
I have read the article and the comments and I am not that much wiser.
I never thought RVP wrote it because players get someone else to write these things. He probably said to someone, get a statement out about how I am unsure of my future and the club’s future and am not signing a contract at the moment and left it to someone else to draft it. I didn’t think Vos wrote it because English wouldn’t be his native language.
When I thought about it a bit, I assumed Darren Dein or some other English agent working on RVP’s behalf wrote it but I could be wrong. The digs at Gazidis and at Wenger are not RVP’s style but those of an agent wanting to flush out offers.
Rather than getting caught up in who wrote or didn’t write RVP’s statement, it is the bigger picture that matters. All the statement did was indicate his availability. A few words here or there or someone else writing it doesn’t change that. Neither does it change RVP’s reponsibility for the statement. It came out in his name, 99% certain that he knew it was coming out.
What I am wondering is why his agent didn’t have a club such as Real, Barca, Juve, City or Chelsea lined up. RVP knows well what going to Utd means for his Arsenal legacy and I don’t think that was his first choice but it ended up as his only choice.
Godge,
From your aspect and my own thoughts, I believe assume the whole scenario was induced by RVP via his agent or other similar entity as RVP knew that Arsenal knew no one wanted to buy him so they had to try and force Arsenals hand in increasing his pay by stimulating some interest and making him look popular. The bit they forgot is Arsenal do all their business above board so would know that no club had approached them for RVP and therefore he was not wanted. Looks like Man U took the bait and fell for the ploy whilst Arsenal didn’t.
Some agents do their business through the media they use it as a tool to unsettle players. Some agents never talk to the press. Some agents will tout their clients around without their clients knowledge to try to force a move for individual financial gains. RVP moved within the premier league so would not have needed a Fifa registered agent to put his/her name to the deal only an FA registered agent was needed, Agents are now allowed to act for both parties as long as this is agreed. Research Sports entertainment group to see if they only have Fifa registered agents as they are mainly Dutch based agents or look on the FA’s web site for agents registered with SEG. These are the people who take responsibility, As Bob pointed out before, It’s the registered lawyers behind the scenes that can complicate issues for a club. These lawyers are anonymous so are not held to account for informing a player of his options(I.E Tapping up). Most if not all players have direction, goals and ambitions and it is the agents job to help his/her clients career reach it’s full potential. They have a career plan and will be ruthless in trying to achieve their goals
@El Gringo
Yes, the way some posters have responded would make one think that Anne was getting close to the truth behind the RVP transfer and there was a mini campaign in response to discredit her point of view and also to intimidate any posters who might agree with her.
This saga did have some strange aspects, some still to come out into the open and it looks as if whoever was pulling strings behind the scene is very sensitive about discovery. Perhaps someone close to home was involved.
You have clearly put a mighty amount of work and thought into this. I respect that. I’m not denigrating your posts in any way.
My view is that money is at the heart of it, perhaps ambition but I am less convinced by that…..
1) Van Persie is 29. This is his last chance at a big money contract
2) He is discontent with life at Arsenal (haven’t won anything for 7 years etc etc)
3) He waits to see what Arsenal are doing in the transfer market
4) Oh hang on…old Arsene gone and bought some decent players
5)What to do now? His number 1 excuse has been removed
6)He still wants out. We not offering £200k a week and it seems Arsenal are willing to let him see out the last year of his contract
7)Website announcement is made. It is made on an RVP site. Doesn’t matter if he knew or not. He is accountable. Who gains? Who loses? Perhaps the post was done without RVP authority? I very much doubt it. He still has the same representatives as far as I’m aware. He hasn’t sacked anybody. He hasn’t denied it either has he?
8) This makes the situation untenable for Arsenal, effectively forced to sell
9) We sell.
In short the post was done to force a transfer as Arsenal were clearly willing to let him see out his contract. He would then be over 30 and who’s to say what sort of season he would have had!
The website has served its purpose. They cost money to run and you can use facebook, twitter and other social media to serve the same ends.
That’s my take.
He’s moved on. We’ve moved on as a club. Let’s look forward to the City game.
@bjtgooner: Yes that struck me as well. It’s quite possible Anne was on to something. The only unfrtunate point is that she or anyone have not been able to refute why RVP the fact that RVP did not come out in the open about this. That’s not a dig at her…it is just not explainable at you right now. Someday hopefully we will know more.
RVP’s website is down for maintenance due to it being full of RVP appearing in most pictures in an Arsenal shirt, playing Arenal games, being with Arsenal players and with most of the comments being favourable to Arsenal.
He is now a ManU player so can’t have this material up there.
It is interesting to see how much historic material will remain if he reopens the site.
fedda, your no.1 to 3 facts did cancel the whole conspiracy theory
walter, agree with you apart from your objection of fedda’s post. I think Van Persie became the loser of this saga. He would never end his career as a legend anymore.
btw to question the posters not on their arguments but on how frequent they posted here or suspecting their IP addresses is an ad hominem argumentation.
If you don’t agree with the objections of this article, it would be wiser to express your argumentation. For example how can you refuse to acknowledge fedda’s 3 points facts.
@fedda,benhan: Its funny yes. Its unexplainable yes. But the key fact here is that we do not have all the data with us. It is only when we have the data with us can we clearly conclude either way.
A classic case is Kia Jooarachian’s ownership of Tevez and Mascherano. They might have said they were happy to join Westham on their public sites etc; it doesn’t mean a thing. For all you know there might be some hidden pressure on RVP to have put it on Twitter, which again, I concede seems far fetched but not totally unreasonable.
You can draw a conclusion on anything or compare anything only if you have all the facts. Until then, we can only speak in probabilities. Could A happen? Could B happen? Which is more likely?
And then conclude…Yes A more likely than B … meaning RVP totally guilty > RVP a victim .. that is more likely yes. But to say the other side is absurd…no..I can’t agree on that. As I’ve said multiple times now..
Sure Anne cannot prove that it WAS a conspiracy. Sure. I agree too. She can’t. That does not mean though that it did NOT happen. So I ask you two and anyone else…Since you say it DID NOT happen..can you prove that RVP was NOT under some external pressure which made 1,2,3 mandatory? As in he had no choice?
If you can…please share the same here, otherwise you too are just expressing an opinion and not a fact. Its a large, murky world..football and filled with expert PR spinners. It’d be foolhardy to take everything at its face value. Most times. Yes. Occams Razor. Sometimes…I don’t know. I really don’t.
Want more examples of strange unexplainable things? The Alex Song transfer, Park Chu Young, Amaury Bischoff, Gazidis elected to the board, media’s concilliatory tone, Arsene making weird substitutions at times, Ferguson buying Bebe for 8 million…and certainly many more. Occam’s razor..I doubt holds good in all those cases.
So..that’s all it is…an opinion. Anne = opinion (possibly fact I dunno if she has seen something more) , All of us = opinion because we have all drawn our own logical(to each) conclusions.
I honestly could care less about the expired RvP saga. Would I prefer he was still at Arsenal? YES! Now he is at Man United, and can do what he wants there.
We have a great team at Arsenal, and that’s what I care about.
In general I find this site very interesting and have recommeded it to others. However this article is very confusing which does not help when putting forward such a theory. I find the notion that RVP had no say or agreement with his statement very hard to believe in that he has not denied it. But more immportant who is supposed to be behind all this? Have I missed something? I am new to posting on this site but I am not some troll or something sinister I would just like to understand the point behind all this