Van Persie will almost be 30 when his contract expires. If we just LET him run his contract down, he WILL sign a new deal with us. No club is going to want to pay £100,000's a week for an old guy, surely? The clubs above us will go for the younger players at that age...and I think, being his current club, we are the only club who will honestly continue to play him. Granted, some of Europe's best strikers are in their 30's, but they're only good for a couple more years. (Di natale, etc). So hopefully, he knows this.
And he's not one of those players who relies on his physical attributes. He should be able to play for a long while yet.
Agreed with Jayram. He is the type of player that can easily play into his mid 30s as he doesn't rely on pace or athletic abilities like Henry etc. He has the ability to play in midfield as a playmaker too. As long as we can manage him more intelligently (seems so now as he's been less injury prone this season), then he will last the duration and sign him up to another 4/5 year contract!
Sorry, but there are plenty of desperate clubs where money has no value, at 30 and with a zero transfer cost I'd say half of Europe would be willing to pay £100k a week and then there's those who wouldn't think twice about paying £250k+ a week. RVP is Arsenal through and through, he will sign a contract extension in Summer 2012 that will keep him with us until he's 33, at the end of that contract he could still be one of the worlds best strikers or he could be a yard slower and fit for the Championship, the call can be made nearer the time, but ensuring he stays at the club for a minimum of 4 more seasons is crucial and I firmly believe AW and the board have this in hand. I think the key to him staying is AW penning a new deal...
A player should be judged on ability and not on age. All this obsession on youth is nonsense. As long as RVP remains fit, he will still be better than the majority of our squad when he goes into his mid 30s. Even Bergkamp at the end of his career would still get into our squad! Class is class, it remains.....
