adminThe Arsenal manager is keen to hold face-to-face talks with Van Persie in the next few days to try to persuade him to sign a new contract.
But if he fails to do so, Wenger wants to sanction a quick sale of the 28-year-old forward.
The Frenchman would rather have the funds — and time — to reinvest than a repeat of last year, when the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri near the end of the transfer window disrupted preparations for the new season.
Wenger had just 15 days to spend the £50million raised — signing Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta, Andre Santos, Park Chu-young and Yossi Benayoun (on loan) — and was criticised for what many perceived to be panic buys.
Arsenal are expecting contact from both Manchester clubs and Juventus over their interest in Van Persie before the end of the week.
They want more than £30m for the Holland star but Van Persie’s age and the fact he has only a year left on his contract mean they are likely to receive nearer £20m.
As revealed by Sportsmail, the club is preparing for Van Persie’s exit.
The scouting team are due to meet this week to identify possible replacements, with Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic and Robert Lewandowski, of Borussia Dortmund, being considered.
Meanwhile, Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has promised to follow boss Roberto Mancini’s example by dedicating his future to the English Premier League champions.
Toure was delighted to see Mancini sign a new five-year contract on Tuesday and the Cote d’Ivoire international responded by shrugging off links with a move back to Barcelona.
The 29-year-old left the Camp Nou to join City in 2010 and recent reports have claimed he could be tempted to return to Spain.
But Toure, who played a key role in City winning their first English league title for 44 years, told the club’s website: “I was very happy to hear the news that our manager has signed a new five year deal.
“It is important for this club to have stability at all levels, especially after we have just won the title and the FA Cup the season before.
“It means there will be no changes or disruption to what has proved a winning formula and, for the long term, that can only be good for Manchester City.
“Now the manager can continue to build this club and plan for the future — let’s not forget Sir Alex Ferguson has been at Manchester United for 25 years and they haven’t done too badly over the years.
“On a personal level, I’m very happy because I want to win many more trophies with City and the manager has the same mentality as I do — he wants to win everything with this club and so do I.
“Of course, it’s not only me — we have a whole squad who are hungry for more success and we are pulling in the same direction.”
And West Ham co-owner David Gold admits his club would be interested in signing Andy Carroll if Liverpool are willing to off-load the England striker.
Gold was responding to reports that West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is ready to make an approach for Carroll following Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ admission that he might be willing to let the former Newcastle star go out on loan next season.
Rodgers is uncertain if Carroll will fit into the smooth passing style he plans to introduce at Anfield, but Allardyce’s more direct tactics would be a perfect fit for the burly targetman, who is a close friend of West Ham captain Kevin Nolan. — Mailonline-AFP.
Online Reporter