Arsenal’s RVP saga may not be all dark and gloomy after all

This is the statement that was made on arsenal.com regarding Robin Van Persie’s future. “We have to respect Robin’s decision not to renew his contract. Robin has one year to run on his current contract and we are confident that he will fulfil his commitments to the Club. We are planning with ambition and confidence for next season with Arsenal’s best interests in mind.”

As per this statement, it isn’t certain that RVP is leaving; it just says that he won’t renew his contract. Infact this appears to intimate that there is a possibility that he will see out his contract and leave under the Bosman rule next year. I’m not sure that is a bad thing considering clubs like Juventus are offering as little as 10 million pounds (Sh1.30bn) for the Dutchman’s signature. If a decent offer is made – in light of the fact that Samir Nasri left for 25 million pounds (Sh3.26bn) – then of course the club should grab the money and run.

Arsenal already made the mistake by not offering RVP better terms last season. It’s always tricky when you leave a signing to the last year. Clubs know that either they pay little for him, or he will be available for free in 12 months. And most clubs would rather wait than fork out tens of millions of pounds. It is definite that should RVP leave it would be a huge blow to the club, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world! Manager Arsene Wenger has made decent signings in Lucas Podolski and Olivier Giroud; and if he continues to sign players of that calibre then we aren’t doing too badly.

But Wenger needs to off-load extra baggage, find some money and make a few more quality signings. Arsenal will once again be competing on four fronts and we need a wide squad. With Jack Wilshere on his way back as well I’m not too worried about RVP. Arsenal are a team, not a player. Yes it’s been seven years and counting without silverware but I don’t believe we are doomed! Now more than ever, we need Wenger to be smart.

Congratulations to Spain, the Champions of Europe; actually the Champions of the World! They have been on top for several years now and naturally they remain top in the latest Fifa rankings. What completely stands out for me in the rankings released this week is the fact that Brazil are no longer in the top ten! I never believed I would live to see that day but it’s true.

Brazil have not been playing top quality football and they haven’t been getting the results. In fact it’s been ten years since they won a World Cup. But for some reason I trust that they will regroup and do something special when they host the international football spectacle in 2014. What also stood out for me but didn’t shock me was the fact that Kenya dropped 14 places to 125.

Harambee Stars have been terrible this year and the future looks bleak. I foresee us dropping a few places in the next year considering we have to play Nigeria twice and Malawi away. Maybe now is the time to start from scratch when we really have little to lose. FKF should employ a credible manager who should begin to put together a brand new young team that has great potential. That young team will likely lose to Nigeria, Malawi and Namibia but they will gain invaluable experience for the future.

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