Arsenal fear Robin van Persie will leave as contract talks stall

Van Persie’s current deal runs until 2013 and Arsenal are desperate to avoid a re-run of the situation they experienced this summer with Samir Nasri going into the final 12 months of his existing contract and leaving for Manchester City.

Clubs like to renegotiate in the season before the final year of contracts but Van Persie is one of four key players who have less than two years left on their deals, along with Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen and Alex Song.

However the 28-year-old Dutch international is Arsenal’s most important asset and manager Arsène Wenger confirmed that Van Persie had come to him before the start of the season because he was anxious about the club’s future following the departures of Nasri and Cesc Fabregas.

“If you’re in Robin’s place and you see Nasri going, Fabregas going, then you can be worried, of course,” Wenger said.

“Robin is 28 years old, arrived at 21 or 22 and we will not lose all the players. We lost Fabregas [to Barcelona] not because of a financial reason but because of an understandable reason even if it hurts us a lot. 

"You can understand that but the one which is less understandable is Nasri. That was more down to him having one year on his contract.”