ROBIN VAN PERSIE has finally revealed why he left Arsenal for Manchester United.
The Dutch striker was branded a “snake” and a “traitor” when he left the Gunners for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in a 24million back in August 2012.
Van Persie, 36, penned a lengthy letter to fans at the time in which he said he would leave the club, but refused to “go into any details” as to why.
But the BT Sport pundit has explained the reason behind his decision.
He said: “You can compare [me being at Arsenal] to being married. Me and my wife – Arsenal – were married for eight years.
“After eight years, my wife, possibly got a bit tired of me. Those are the facts.
“If Arsenal are not offering you a new deal… you can have different views on things but the fact is Arsenal never offered me a new deal.
“Then you have a look around. I was ambitious. I still wanted to win the league. That is life.
“I ended up having three options. One option abroad disappeared quickly. Then it was City or Manchester United.
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“THEY GOT TIRED OF ME – THOSE ARE THE FACTS”
“What people don’t know, during the transfer, loads of things are happening behind the scenes.
“You have to take a lot on and make a choice based on what your targets are but also deal with the facts.
“One of the main facts was that Arsenal got tired of me. That was the starting point – they didn’t offer me a new deal.
“We had loads of chats with Wenger, with [Ivan] Gazidis.They gave me no decision to make.”
Van Persie said at the time of his move that there were “no hard feelings” between himself and Arsenal.
It was believed then that Arsene Wenger was willing to make Van Persie the club’s highest paid player.
But now it is clear that an offer of a fresh contract – Van Persie’s was due to expire in 2013, the summer after he moved to Old Trafford – never arrived.
Arsenal fan Piers Morgan could not believe Van Persie’s revelation.
He tweeted: “Astonishing. If what @Persie_Official says is true then Wenger has a lot of questions to answer.
“How the hell could we have not even offered him a new deal?”
One Gunners fan added: “And to imagine how the fans were furious putting all the blame on Van Persie.”
