Arsene Wenger admits Man Utd-Van Persie deal has 'strengthened an enemy'

Visit Save For Later

by Crunch Sports Staff

Posted

Arsene Wenger (credit: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he would rather have sold Robin van Persie to a foreign side, than to Manchester United.

Arsenal and United agreed a fee in the region of £24million for Van Persie on Wednesday night, with the 29-year-old completing his move to Old Trafford on Friday.

And Wenger, who has admitted he had to sell to a Premier League rival to avoid his skipper leaving Emirates Stadium for nothing next summer, would have preferred to do business with a club outside of the English top-flight.

"To strengthen an enemy is the other negative point of this loss," Wenger told TF1.

"We wanted to avoid it but we couldn't. Honestly, I'd rather sell him abroad, to Paris Saint-Germain for example.

"Manchester United know him and know his qualities. He's really an exceptional player, believe me."

Wenger also admits new signings Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud have a "tough challenge" to replace the Dutchman.

"Van Persie is a great player so it's always sad to lose such a player. But we must consider the economic reality and the will of the player," he added.

"When you can't succeed in extending the contract of a player that is in its last year, there is no other way but to let him go.

"It's sad because he played for us for eight years. He's 29 now. He was 21 when he came and it's another bitter pill to swallow.

"A lot has happened before and we survived it all, but this is a real challenge because Van Persie scored 30 [Premier League]goals in a year, almost one per game.

"It's a tough challenge for our new forwards to replace him."

Like Like

All Soccer News

Recent Transfer News Articles

Chelsea FC target Neymar would make FC Barcelona 'even stronger' says Pedro22 May 2013
Barcelona will become "even stronger" should Santos striker Neymar join them this summer, according to Pedro. Neymar is arguably the most sought after player in world football today and has been linked with a number of clubs in recent months, with Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, Manchester City, ...
Man Utd target Fernandinho wants Man City move22 May 2013
Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker Fernandinho, who has been linked with Manchester United has revealed he is keen on a move to rivals Manchester City this summer. Fernandinho has been linked with the two Manchester clubs for some time, but Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu earlier this month insisted tha...
Liverpool FC closing in on Man City defender Kolo Toure22 May 2013
Manchester City defender Kolo Toure could be on his way to Liverpool this summer.Toure is out of contract at City this summer and it is not expected he will be offered a new deal.That means the former Arsenal centre-back would be available on a free transfer, and according to widespread reports in ...
Chelsea FC ready for Jose Mourinho return as Real Madrid CF confirm exit22 May 2013
Real Madrid have confirmed that Jose Mourinho will leave the Bernabeu at the end of the season, paving the way for the 'Special One' to return to Chelsea this summer. Mourinho is the bookmakers' favourite to be installed as Chelsea's next permanent manager and on Monday evening it was confirmed tha...
Arsenal FC target Yaya Sanogo looking forward to joining 'great' Gunners22 May 2013
Auxerre starlet Yaya Sanogo has confirmed he is looking forward to joining Arsenal next season. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger last week revealed that a deal for 20-year-old Sanogo was close, and the forward is excited about his move to north London. "Arsenal could be a great club for me, I scored n...
Liverpool FC to sell Andy Carroll for £15m22 May 2013
Liverpool are ready to let Andy Carroll join West Ham this summer in a £15million deal. But whether Carroll agrees to join the Hammers permanently remains to be seen. Carroll has withdrawn from the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil with a heel inju...
Chelsea FC, Man Utd target Radamel Falcao to join AS Monaco 'as soon as possible'22 May 2013
AS Monaco expect to sign Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, who has been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, "as soon as possible". Falcao has been linked with a number of top clubs from across Europe in recent weeks and is widely believed to be Chelsea's top summer transfe...
Arsenal FC targets Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic wanted by Juventus FC22 May 2013
Juventus have confirmed their interest in Gonzalo Higuain and Stevan Jovetic, who are both believed to be targets for Arsenal.Real Madrid striker Higuain has been linked with a move to the Premier League on a number of occasions over the past twelve months and is believed to be one of several playe...
Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona target Neymar would be 'wonderful addition' - Lionel Messi22 May 2013
Barcelona star Lionel Messi believes Santos striker Neymar would make a "wonderful addition" to the Catalans' squad. Neymar, who is out of contract in June 2014, is arguably the most sought after player in world football today and has been linked with a number of clubs in recent months, with Bayern...

Recent Articles

Mourinho to Chelsea FC? Higuain to Arsenal FC? Toure to Liverpool FC? Wednesday's transfer round-up26 minutes ago
Wednesday's round up of the top transfer stories from the past 24 hours... - Real Madrid have confirmed that Jose Mourinho will leave the Bernabeu at the end of the season, paving the way for the 'Special One' to return to Chelsea this summer. - Arsenal have put signing a world-class striker at the...
Robin van Persie backs David Moyes to be a success at Man Utd54 minutes ago
Robin van Persie has backed incoming Manchester United manager David Moyes to be a success at the club.Moyes was confirmed as United's new manager last week and has agreed a six-year deal to replace Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired after the Red Devils' incredible 5-5 draw with West Brom on Sunday.Th...
Rooney, Ronaldo, Gomez, Khedira, McCarthy - five Chelsea FC transfer targets22 May 2013
Chelsea are believed to be preparing for the return of Jose Mourinho as manager after it was confirmed that the 'Special One' will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season. With Mourinho set to return to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are set to splash the cash during the summer transfer window, and&nb...
Pepe Reina flattered by FC Barcelona interest but settled at Liverpool FC22 May 2013
Pepe Reina admits he is flattered by reported interest from Barcelona - but insists he is settled at Liverpool. Reports in Spain earlier this year suggested Reina had emerged as a target for Barcelona as they start their search for a replacement for Victor Valdes, who is out of contract at the end ...
Shinji Kagawa has been wasted by Man Utd says Jurgen Klopp22 May 2013
Jurgen Klopp believes Manchester United have failed to make the most of Shinji Kagawa.Kagawa moved to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund last summer but has not enjoyed regular first-team football in his first season at Old Trafford.The Japan international had sometimes featured in a wide role und...
Man City to sign Chelsea FC target Edinson Cavani?22 May 2013
Manchester City could be on closing in on the signing Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, who has also been linked with Chelsea. Cavani has been in superb form this season, and has also been linked with Arsenal, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in recent weeks. The Uruguay international las...
Romelu Lukaku insists Chelsea FC are still his 'dream club'22 May 2013
Romelu Lukaku, who spent last season on loan at West Brom, has revealed he still dreams of becoming a success at Chelsea. Lukaku was a regular in the starting line-up for most of the campaign at The Hawthorns and ended his loan spell with a second-half hat-trick against Manchester United on Sunday....
Man Utd target Mats Hummels yet to receive FC Barcelona offer22 May 2013
Mats Hummels, who has been linked with Barcelona and Manchester United, insists there has been no contact from Camp Nou officials about a possible summer move away from Borussia Dortmund. Reports last summer had suggested that Barca were considering launching a bid for the Germany internationa...
Petr Cech urges Chelsea FC to appoint Jose Mourinho quickly and bring in new signings22 May 2013
Petr Cech has called for Chelsea to waste no time in appointing a new manager, with Jose Mourinho expected to return to Stamford Bridge this summer. Mourinho is the bookmakers' favourite to be installed as Chelsea's next permanent manager and on Monday evening it was confirmed that he will lea...