Van Persie has alienated himself from Arsenal fans forever

August 15th, 2012. A date that will live in Infamy. No, no, not if you are an Indian. If you are an Arsenal fan. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s well-documented phrase aside, that was the day Arsenal fans’ worst fears were confirmed. On that day, the club had announced that their talisman, captain and previous season’s top scorer had entered talks with Manchester United and a discussion of personal terms was en route. Two days later, he was kitted out in full Manchester United regalia as presented to the press alongside a smiling Sir Alex Ferguson who’d surely pulled off one of the Premier League’s biggest transfer coups. But the writing on the wall had been present for some time. The Dutchman’s form had tailed off during the last few weeks of the campaign and he’d constantly postponed speaking to top brass at Ashburton Grove, saying he would take a decision on his future at Arsenal once he’d returned from his vacation in the Caribbean. It’s not just that van Persie had left for Manchester United, one of the Gunners’ direct title rivals, but the manner in which he left the Emirates that has been the source of much of the heartache Arsenal fans suffer from. That statement on his website that had fans scrambling for normalcy meant he had alienated himself from them forever. The Dutchman spent eight years in North London, but he spent several months on the side lines for seven of those seasons. When he did join the club from Rotterdam, he was a petulant prodigy, having been consigned to training with the reserves by then Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk. That immature nature spilled over into his nascent Arsenal career when he was sent off for a rash lunge on Graeme Le Saux in a game at Southampton in 2005. To convert an arrogant prodigy into a world-class talent over an investment period of eight years, only to see him join United is one of the reasons the fans have isolated themselves from van Persie. Another is the fact that while he was able to showcase his talent in bits and pieces for a majority of his stay at the Arsenal, it was only sustained for one season: his last before which he was named captain. [caption id=“attachment_735201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  No love lost between Van Persie and the Arsenal fans. Getty Images[/caption] At the moment, sections of Arsenal fans are of frail mental perseverance. Eight years without a trophy and the departures of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Alexandre Song, Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure and van Persie (among others) to pastures more lucrative where they have (or are in the process of) winning silverware. What also hurts is that van Persie was signed as a long-term replacement for Dennis Bergkamp, who was so loyal to Arsenal that the phrase ‘loyalty is Dutch, blonde and doesn’t fly’ is now spoken in reverence to the loyalty the Non-flying Dutchman showed. That he stayed on despite the departures of Nasri and Fabregas gave Arsenal fans hope that maybe he was different; maybe he would stay on for the greater good. All those reasons are why the emotional investment in van Persie has turned into hatred for him. That hatred will be evident when he returns to Arsenal with his new team already crowned Champions for a record twentieth time. But while hatred has been brewing in the bleachers at the Emirates, on the pitch at Old Trafford, van Persie has been playing football with joy unabated. With the exception of a dour opening day defeat to Everton, van Persie’s career in a Manchester United shirt has been stellar. In fact, the reason Manchester United are being afforded a guard of honour today evening is because of van Persie’s 23 goals this season. Arsenal fans plan to respond to this guard of honour by unleashing all their stored-up vitriol in the form vociferous booing for the Dutchman and a round of the Poznan all around the stadium. That move will accomplish nothing. The Poznan is a move imported to England by fans of Manchester City, a club that were put firmly in place by Sir Alex Ferguson. The manner in which he wrested the league title from his bitter rivals shows that this season was all about showing City that they were no more than what he had called them several times before: noisy neighbours. If Gooners were to stoop to the level of City fans, they show that they are no better than them, instead of proudly supporting the club that does things the right way in England. In addition, while jeering van Persie will provide an outlet for the rage of Arsenal fans, they will not affect him in the slightest. While he has shone at Old Trafford, not once has he said thank you either to Arsenal fans or Arsene Wenger, the man who has made him what he is today. They say actions speak louder than words, and while van Persie penned several of them to announce his refusal to sign a new contract at Arsenal, not the slightest inclination towards his nurturing in North London has passed through his lips. The jeers that surround him from all sides as he walks onto the perfectly manicured turf of the Emirates will wash off him like water on rock. Few will know whether he remains an Arsenal fan at heart, but the fact of the matter is that he went the Red half of Manchester to win silverware. And maybe, if van Persie had won silverware with the Gunners, he would have stayed on. But as Wenger says, when a childless woman is 39 years old, she thinks she will never have children again. It is clear that van Persie doesn’t dwell on Arsenal, so why should fans of the Red and White waste their time and energy fuming over what he did to them? As far as the Guard of Honour is concerned, it is about showing respect to a fellow warrior in battle. This is the sign of the sporting culture and mutual camaraderie that United deserve. While there is much being made about United’s reception at Arsenal, we must not forget that when George Graham won the league in 1991, Sir Alex’s team afforded the Gunners the same courtesy. From that perspective, therefore, it is the right thing to do.