Well it happened, it actually happened! Rub your eyes in disbelief all you like. Robin Van Persie will no longer be prowling the penalty areas at the Emirates Stadium . On the eve of the new Premier League campaign the Dutchman did the unthinkable. But where does this leave the Gunners? One could say losing Van Persie will impact heavily on Arsene Wenger's hopes of a title challenge this term. But as we've seen year after year Wenger always comes out fighting after losing the heartbeat of his team. This time around he's remedied the situation early with the signings of Oliver Giroud, Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla. All three are expected to feature in their opening game and prove there is life after Van Persie. The 29-year-old enjoyed his best season in front of goal since joining the North London club eight years ago but if the aforementioned trio can replicate his tally of 37 and deliver a first trophy since 2005 then the former captain will become a distant memory in the minds of supporters.
This week on FFC should Wenger let Andrey Arshavin leave the club in the wake of Van Persie's departure and is Lucas Biglia bound for the Emirates?
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Quote of the Week
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"I know it is a massive gamble but I feel we have the quality to deal with that. I can understand people are hurt. We anticipated this might happen so we bought Giroud and Podolski. If you look at the number of players, we have a massive squad. We have what is needed to be ambitious." Arsene Wenger admits it is a risk to sell Robin Van Persie but believes Arsenal can cope without the striker
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