Former Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has reflected on his time with us in depth following his departure to Turkey and focused on his relationship with Arsene Wenger, The Sunday Times reports.
Van Persie forced a move to join rivals Manchester United in 2012 and after winning the league title in his first season, the Dutchman has endured a horrid period since.
Injuries and reported issues with former manager David Moyes (via the Metro) and compatriot Louis van Gaal (via Eurosport) have blighted the final few years of his career in England.
However, despite the controversy surrounding his departure from us, Van Persie stated that he’s forever indebted to Wenger and revealed that the two are still in contact.
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“Arsène is my football father,” Van Persie told The Sunday Times.
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“He raised me from being a little kid, as a footballer. What he does, for players young and old, is create an environment where you feel the trust like one big family.
“People think there was an argument between us.. On the contrary, we always had a lot of respect for each other. We just had some different views at the time and I’m still talking to Arsene regularly now. He is a world class coach and manager and above all, a classy man.”
Despite the natural dislike many feel towards Van Persie, few can help but imagine what might have been had the Dutchman believed in his ‘football father’ a bit more.
If we’re honest, Van Persie would still walk into our first XI and we’re yet to adequately replace the 31-year-old, which makes his departure even harder to take.
Very much a case of ‘what might have been?’
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