Robin Van Persie To Delay Arsenal Talks Until After Euro 2012

Van Persie to delay decision on his future until after this summer's tournament?

By Matt Holmes /

Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie is considering delaying a decision on his future until after this summer's Euro 2012 tournament, according to BBC Sport. The Gunners have yet to propose a firm date of contract talks to their PFA & Writer's Player of the Year but publicly insist that the contract situation will be resolved in the four day window after the end of the season, before Van Persie then joins up with the Holland squad on May 17th. In his pre-match press conference for today's Premier League clash at Stoke, Wenger claimed he was confident that Van Persie would still be an Arsenal player next season;
€œI am confident for two reasons. First of all I want to convince him to stay here and to extend his contract. Secondly he is not free at the end of this season, he has one year of his contract left anyway€
Van Persie has just one-year left on his current deal and at 28-years-old is taking his time over considering what would likely be the last big contract of his career. He has become frustrated at the lack of trophies at Arsenal and the fact that they haven't come close to challenging for the Premier League or Champions League in years. Even a third place finish this season, an improvement on last year, will likely still see them fall 15 or so points behind the two Manchester clubs. This has left Van Persie considering his options and despite loving his time at Arsenal, may be tempted by the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona or dare we say it Manchester City. Considering his options over the Euro 2012 tournament allows Van Persie to see how the transfer activity at the Emirates goes and whether the club lives up to their promise of signing the likes of FC Koln striker Lukas Podolski. It will also mean Van Persie can wait to see if Arsenal qualify for the Champions League, as if they ended up finishing fourth then they won't know if they have qualified for next season's tournament until after the Chelsea vs Bayern Munich Champions League final on May 19th.