Van Persie stalls on new contract talks with Arsenal



Robin Van Persie last night warned Arsenal he is not ready to sign a new deal.

Manager Arsene Wenger has made tying van Persie down his No.1 priority to stop Arsenal losing another of their prize assets.

But the Dutch ace, who scored his 100th goal for the Gunners against Bolton, has made it clear he is in no rush and is desperate to be successful in his career.

Van Persie, whose deal will only have one year left at the end of this season, said: “I still have almost two years until 2013. So for the moment that’s fine, but I don’t know. We will have to look.


“I’m happy with my contract, I’m good. That’s how it is, I can’t say much more. I can’t look into the future.

“The main thing for me is the team and that we play well. I do believe you have to look for a right moment to sit down and speak about your own stuff. It’s not only about me, it’s about the team.

“I don’t want to give the wrong message to speak about my own stuff while the others are a bit more important.

“I can’t say we are talking now because we are so busy – we have games every three or four days.”

Van Persie joined Arsenal in 2004 and has won just one FA Cup winner’s medal despite writing his name into the history books as one of the club’s most prolific strikers.

Arsenal sold Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy to Manchester City because both only had one year left on their contracts and did not want to re-sign.

Van Persie is now 17th in Arsenal’s all-time list of scorers which he said was “amazing” and he never dreamed of copying Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry by reaching 100.

Theo Walcott, who limped off against Bolton with a knee injury, hopes to be fit to face Olympiacos on Wednesday.