It was just like any other morning when I stepped into the office and when onto Soccernet and there it was, splashed onto the front page of the website with headlines screaming about Manchester United’s capture of Arsenal talisman, Robin van Persie.
I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs and I did. The ecstasy of knowing the transfer saga that has been dragging on for the whole of the European summer has finally come to a positive fruition was just too hard to hold back. I’m all too familiar about reading United transfer rumours and would not believe that deals have been done until United have announced it themselves.
Players like Ronaldinho, Robben, Essien and the mercurial Zidane have all almost don the red of United before been tempted by big offer moves to other clubs. When early reports suggested that Manchester City and Juventus were in the running for van Persie along with United, I didn’t think too much about it but was still secretly hoping that Alex Ferguson gets the man he thinks will challenge City for the title next season.
Not since 2001 when United signed both Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy have I gotten so excited about a big name signing. The Arsenal (ex)captain has the pedigree we so sorely lacked last season when we lost the title to Manchester City and with Rooney and van Persie leading the attack for United, it’s going to be raining goals for the red half of Manchester.
I do feel a little for Arsene Wenger though with so many star players leaving Arsenal in the last 16 years that he has managed the team. I figured I’ll write up a list of star players that have left Arsenal and wasn’t surprised that it turned out to be a pretty huge list:
| Player | Left Arsenal For | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Nicolas Anelka | Real Madrid | 1999 |
| Emmanuel Petit | Barcelona | 2000 |
| Marc Overmars | Barcelona | 2000 |
| Nwankwo Kanu | West Bromich Albion | 2004 |
| Sylvain Wiltord | Lyon | 2004 |
| Edu Gaspar | Valencia | 2005 |
| Patrick Vieira | Juventus | 2005 |
| Robert Pires | Villarreal | 2006 |
| José Antonio Reyes | Real Madrid | 2006 |
| Freddie Ljungberg | West Ham United | 2007 |
| Thiery Henry | Barcelona | 2007 |
| Ashley Cole | Chelsea | 2007 |
| Gilberto Silva | Panathinaikos | 2008 |
| Alexander Hleb | Barcelona | 2008 |
| Mathieu Flamini | AC Milan | 2008 |
| Emmanuel Adebayor | Manchester City | 2009 |
| Kolo Toure | Manchester City | 2009 |
| William Gallas | Chelsea | 2010 |
| Gaël Clichy | Manchester City | 2011 |
| Cesc Fàbregas | Barcelona | 2011 |
| Sami Nasri | Manchester City | 2011 |
| Robin van Persie | Manchester United | 2012 |
All is not lost for Arsenal though. They’ve shored up their attack with the captures of Giroud, Podolski and Carzola and even though winning the title is probably out of their reach next season, I’m sure they’ll still be fighting for a Champions League spot.
Today has really made me realized how much I’ve really missed my weekly dose of English Premier League and Champions League football. In the mean time, a montage of United’s new striker who was also last season’s top goal scorer would suffice for now.
