Пол Мърсън: Ван Перси ще съжалява, ако напусне

Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov today blamed Robin van Persie’s ­imminent departure on the board’s reluctance to spend big and warned that the club must drop this policy if they are to challenge for honours.

Usmanov and Farhad Moshiri, the club’s second largest shareholders through their company Red & White Securities, h ...

Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov today blamed Robin van Persie’s ­imminent departure on the board’s reluctance to spend big and warned that the club must drop this policy if they are to challenge for honours.

Usmanov and Farhad Moshiri, the club’s second largest shareholders through their company Red & White Securities, have written a damning letter to the directors, spelling out their fears that Arsenal will no longer be able to challenge for silverware.

The Arsenal captain yesterday revealed he would not sign a new contract, which has a year to run, and Standard Sport understands Juventus are his preferred destination if he leaves this summer.

Usmanov is dismayed by the turn of events given the Gunners lost Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City last summer.

The billionaire, who owns 29.11 per cent of Arsenal shares but does not have a seat on the board, wrote: “Yet again we are faced with losing our true marquee player at the club because we cannot assure him of the future direction and give confidence that we can win trophies.

“Where are the safeguards to ensure this doesn’t happen again? As a top club we should at the very least match if not beat the offers that the other clubs make to try and lure our very best players away and also provide a compelling vision of the future.

“It appears that a place in the Champions League will be the pinnacle of our ambition again next season.”

Much of his ire is aimed over the club’s handling of the debt incurred since the move to the Emirates Stadium, which cost £390million to build, in 2006.

He added: “It is down to our manager, and not the shareholders, to have to deal with the club’s tight finances, carry the burden of repaying the stadium debt by selling his best players and having to continue to find cheaper replacements. All of that, naturally, comes at the expense of performance on the pitch.”

Usmanov also hit out at comments made by chief executive Ivan Gazidis last month, which implied he would cause “conflict” if given a place on the board.

It is believed Arsenal feel Gazidis’s comments were taken out of context, but in his letter, Usmanov warned the board they should ‘desist from seeking to create a false enemy in Red & White.’

He also insisted that having invested £200m, he was not worried about a place on the board and will never do anything that would “destabilise” or “create conflict” at the club.

Usmanov also accused Gazidis of a lack of “professionalism” for sending a “cold call” letter to the chief executive of Russian mobile company OJSC MegaFon asking for shirt sponsorship rather than contacting him first as he is the firm’s majority shareholder.

Arsenal say it is their standard practice to contact chief executives directly over such matters and that MegaFon was one of a number of companies where enquiries were made.

Still, the timing of Usmanov’s attack could not be worse as they try to hang on to Van Persie for 12 more months.Wenger wants to keep him even though it would mean the club risking losing him on a free transfer next year.

It is believed Juventus could only match, or perhaps exceed slightly, the £130,000-a-week offer that Arsenal presented to the 28-year-old, whereas Manchester City have prepared a deal worth £225,000 per week.

However, Juventus are favourites to sign Van Persie because he is thought to hold considerable admiration for Italian football.