Arsenal are reportedly hopeful that captain Robin van Persie will perform a U-turn and not only stay at the club, but also sign a new contract and Increase Arsenal's Chance to get silverware this season.

Manchester City, rivals Manchester United, and Juventus are all keen on signing Van Persie, who last month stated he had no plans to sign a new contract at Arsenal.

His existing deal expires next summer and it has been widely expected that he will leave Emirates Stadium this month.

Man Utd are at time of writing favourites with bookmakers Sky Bet to win the race to sign the 28-year-old this summer, ahead of Man City, and Juventus.

But according to the Daily Star, Van Persie has been impressed by Arsenal's efforts to strengthen their squad this summer, with Spain international Santi Carzola set to join the club in the next couple of days.

Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin is also set to arrive on a season-long loan as manager Arsene Wenger overhauls his squad, while the Frenchman has already brought in Lukas Polodski and Olivier Giroud.

Van Persie is set to fly out of London in the next few days with the Arsenal squad for their pre-season training camp in Germany, and according to Saturday's report, some Arsenal officials now believe their skipper could decide to stay at the Emirates.

Before dropping his bombshell last month, it was known that Van Persie was keen for Wenger to show ambition in the transfer market this summer.

And with Arsenal holding out for at least £20million for the Netherlands international, there is a chance that he could start the new Premier League season in north London.

Reports in recent days have suggested Man Utd are unwilling to spend more than £15m on Van Persie, while Juventus are also yet to come close to Arsenal's asking price.

It is widely thought the Dutchman would prefer to join Juventus or move to Old Trafford ahead of a switch to Man City, which would not go down well with Arsenal fans.

AC Milan, Barcelona, and Real Madrid have also shown interest in Van Persie, but none are believed to have tabled bids.

Will Van Persie stay or go this month? Have your say below!

Cazorla’s signing and RVP’s possible rethink places a strong Arsenal in the title challenge

Don’t get me wrong Cazorla is a major signing for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. It sends out the message that Arsenal and Wenger mean business this season. And this is for two reasons.

Firstly, the total transfer outlay so far is about 40m, and still counting. This is far, far more than any other season in the last seven barren years.

Secondly all the transfers involve players who are far more mature both in terms of age and experience in difficult competitive leagues. Podolski is 27 and a Germany international, Giroud is 25 and a France international and Cazorla 27 and a Spain international.

They are all quality players and worthy of first team selection. And they are all added to a squad who as yet has not lost anyone of note. If RVP does eventually leave this summer then the three new comers do add up to a net addition to an already strong squad.

Consider the squad as it stands now:

Goalkeepers: Szczęsny, Fabianski, Mannone

Right Backs: Sagna, Jenkinson, , Koscienly (if needed), Coquelin, Yennaris

Left Backs: Gibbs, Santos, (we are rather short of cover here if both get injured)

Central Defenders: Vermaelen, Koscienly, Mertesacker, Djourou

Central Midfilders: Song, Diaby, Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Coquelin, Frimpong, Wilshere,

Wide Midfielders: Walcott, Gervinho, Podolski, Arshavin, The Ox, Cazorla

Strikers: RVP (if he stays), Giroud, Chamakh, Bendtner (if he stays)

It seems that if RVP leaves the strikers position would prove to be an area where we may me short. Chamakh is not up to it and Bendtner wants out which leaves us with only Giroud.

Nevertheless the squad is far far stronger than in recent years.

And I boldly can predict that IF RVP has  a rethink  stays then we can  lift the title this coming season…..

Wenger won't make an emergency signing - Van Persie to play tomorrow

With the manager's press conference taking place yesterday as he and his team travel to Manchester later today, we got to move on from Tuesday night. Obviously there were questions relating to our defeat but I wouldn't have expected any different.

The team news isn't rosy, unfortunately. Wojciech Szczesny will have to see a specialist about his dislocated finger. He could be out for up to six weeks. The manager is considering an emergency loan - he must ask the Premier League for permission to make the signing - and has even identified a target.

I have no idea who it will be. But I will hazard a guess and predict we won't sign anyone.

As I said, Szczesny could be out for up to six weeks. Two of those weeks are a break for international fixtures. So in reality it is down to four. For the next two fixtures - Manchester United and West Brom - Manuel Almunia will be in goal and reserve team keeper James Shea will act as his understudy.

That cuts the time down to three weeks after the international break.

The manager likes to muddle through with what he's got. Remember in the January transfer window when we were crying out from a central defensive signing. And what happened, we got to February 1st and not a single player had been signed.

He would rather stick with what he has rather than take a punt on a player who he's not yet ready to sign. And when you sign a player - especially on an emergency loan - unless you know them very well you don't know what type of character you'll be bringing in.

The new guy could be a disruptive influence on the other players - change the mood in the camp - start fights. At least with the keepers he's got, Wenger knows the characters and what to expect.

We're going into a very important time in the season - the business end. This is a critical moment for this team - one where they have two trophies in their sights. If Wenger signs the wrong guy those two trophies could be gone.

And the manager isn't prepared to end the season without winning something. We've the Premier League and FA Cup left.

Wenger said:
"We want to deal well with the two psychological blows that we had recently, and that's our purpose. If we manage to do that, then it will be an advantage.
"In the last month we have lost the Carling Cup final and gone out of the Champions League, so if you had a global view of the last three months you had every reason to be optimistic.
"I've said since the start of the season that we will go for all of the competitions. We've got two left. We need to keep the right attitude to turn the luck around on our side a little bit."
And I think this weekend is important. If we bounce back with a win it will push us on again. We've got to get our momentum back. I think that is key. That will mean playing our most influential players at Old Trafford.... the one's we've got left who aren't injured.

And the early team news is that as well as Szczesny, Cesc Fabregas is out with a reoccurrence of his hamstring injury. He'll miss the game tomorrow and more than likely the trip to West Brom Saturday week.

Alex Song still remains on the sidelines as does Theo Walcott and Thomas Vermaelen.

The good news however is that Robin van Persie has suffered no ill effects of playing on Tuesday night and is available. I think that is a minor miracle myself but very good news.

I think van Persie will start at Old Trafford and the manager will play a strong side.

There is some stuff around about Arsene Wenger bashing UEFA, all very interesting if you're into that sort of thing. I would much rather concentrate on the football now. Tuesday was a very disappointing evening for every Gooner, so I just want to move forward and think about winning things.

Some transfer tittle-tattle for you? The Daily Mail link us to Le Havre for 16-year-old Benjamin Mendy, who plays left back for France's under-17s.

Robin Van Persie Interview after red card barcelona-arsenal

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