Van Persie Claims Arsenal board played games with His move to United,

Robin Van Persie has accused Arsenal's board of 'playing games' over
the transfer saga that left him fretting over his dream move to
Manchester United.

The 29-year old striker's refusal to sign a new contract at the
beginning of July signalled his intent to quit the Emirates, and he
subsequently admitted that 'the little boy inside me was screaming Man
United.'

He still faced an anxious six-week wait before joining his club of
choice, though, as Arsenal used strong interest from Manchester City
and Juventus as a bargaining tool in negotiations over the fee.

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United finally agreed to pay £24million and while his contribution to
their Barclays Premier League title success may represent value for
money, it was still seen as a lot for a player nudging 30.

As Van Persie looked back on his anxious wait to become Sir Alex
Ferguson's stellar signing of last summer, he described how
brinkmanship in the Emirates boardroom left him on tenterhooks.

'It was because it wasn't only me who decided where I went to play,'
the Holland striker said, in an interview with MUTV. 'I also depended
on my former club as well and how they saw it. And then of course you
always have these games that the directors play.

'It's a bit like a rollercoaster. Some days it is looking good and
other days it is worse. You don't really know what to expect because
things can change so quickly. It normally depends on the player and
the two teams, but in my case, there were two other teams involved as
well.

'One was City and the other one was Juventus. So it was a bit hectic
but I always wanted this transfer from day one. Me and Sir Alex knew
that it would be a bumpy road but I think that it shows that if you
really want something then nothing is impossible. I am glad it
happened.'

Van Persie recounted the moment he was finally able to heave a sigh of
relief and begin thinking about spearheading United's attack.

'I was in the coach and just about to play with Holland,' he said.
'There are no phones allowed in there but I just kept it on me just in
case.

'When I heard a small buzz, I looked at it and saw a text from my
agent that read, "The deal is done, enjoy the game."

'It was a big relief. I wasn't fined for using my phone either! It was
weird because they announced it on TV during the game, which I didn't
know - I thought it was only me who knew. From that moment, everything
went so quickly.

'The next day, I had to come for my medical. I went by train from
Brussels to London to get my bits and pieces and then on to
Manchester. The next one-and-a-half days was very hectic. I had my
first training session, and then two days later, we had to play
Everton.

'When you go to high school and you are about 12 years old, you wake
up early and are nervous about seeing your new class-mates. It was
very similar, although I knew most of them.

'But it was like that. I came in, gave everyone a handshake and we had
some jokes and some smiles, so it felt good from day one.'