• Holland striker will not rush to sign contract
• Manchester City and Juventus interested
Robin van Persie has indicated that he has no intention of signing his proposed new contract at Arsenal in the immediate future as he waits to see which of his suitors will make official offers for him.
Manchester City and Juventus are prominent among that group and sources at each club say their information is that Van Persie will not agree to fresh terms at the Emirates Stadium under any circumstances, increasing the likelihood of his departure this summer.
The striker opened negotiations with the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, and the club's chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, in London on Wednesday and it was never likely that the meeting would end with Van Persie's signature on the new deal, which would pay him £130,000 a week, plus a £5m re-signing bonus. Van Persie's contract has a little over 12 months to run.
Arsenal maintain there is plenty of time for Van Persie to reflect and commit his remaining peak years to them and they also have the option of holding him for one final season, even if that policy would risk them losing a hugely saleable asset for nothing as a free agent next summer.
Van Persie travelled to the Netherlands on Thursday to join his national team for their Euro 2012 preparations and developments are not expected until after the finals in Poland and Ukraine, although Wenger will remain in contact with his captain and, as such, talks will be ongoing.
Van Persie, the Footballer of the Year, who is central to Arsenal's plans for the future, would favour a move to Barcelona while Real Madrid may also appeal. It is unclear how he would feel about a move to Manchester City, who are prepared to pay him £250,000 a week.
Patrick Vieira, City's football development executive, confirmed his club's interest in Van Persie, but expects the Dutchman to have plenty of suitors given the uncertainty surrounding his contract.
"I don't think it will only be City who would like these kind of players," he said. "I don't think you have so many good talents like Van Persie who have just one year left on his contract. There will be a lot of teams who will want a player like Van Persie."
If Van Persie does decide to leave, Vieira believes that it would be a huge setback for Arsenal and could even convince more star players that their futures lie elsewhere, especially after Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri left to join Barcelona and City respectively last summer.
"It will be as difficult as when they lost Fabregas or Nasri," said Vieira. "Then you knew that Robin was behind. If they lose Robin, who is behind? Of course it is going to be difficult to keep or to convince Robin.
"It was a shock for them to lose Nasri and Fabregas and if they lose Van Persie, it will be a drama. If Robin decides to leave, that means maybe next year it will be Walcott and the next year maybe it will be Wilshere. It will be difficult for Arsenal to keep all their top players. But if they keep Robin, they will send out a positive message to all the clubs around them."
With that in mind, Vieira, a former Arsenal captain, is surprised that his old club have not already resolved Van Persie's future. Last summer, Arsenal's plans in the transfer market were disrupted by holding on to Fabregas and Nasri for as long as possible, which played a major part in their shambolic start to the season.
"I think that is something they should have closed a long time ago but Arsenal don't need me to tell them that," Vieira added. "It is really difficult to find a player with the quality of Van Persie with one year left on his contract, so it is difficult to understand."
Vieira has no such worries at City, who won their first league title since 1968 last Sunday, and says that all anyone is concerned with at Eastlands is building on their success this season. As a player at Arsenal, Vieira won the title three times, but he was never able to retain it – in the Premier League era, the only side other than Manchester United to win back-to-back titles are José Mourinho's Chelsea in 2005 and 2006.
"I think it is really important for a team when you win the league back to back," said Vieira. "With Arsenal we never did that. If you want to dominate, it is really important to win the league back to back and improving our run in the Champions League is really important." Read More
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