TEAMtalk : Robin van Persie was all smiles as he returned to Arsenal pre-season training on Tuesday, but his long-term future remains uncertain.
Holland international van Persie, who turns 29 at the start of August, announced after the European Championships he would not be renewing his current Arsenal deal, which expires at the end of next season.
However, despite reported interest from Manchester City and Juventus, both willing to offer the Dutchman big wages, Van Persie has joined up with his team-mates at their Hertfordshire base following an extended break.
After Van Persie made a carefully-worded announcement on Facebook, which included questioning the club’s ambitions, Arsenal responded by saying while they “respected” their captain’s position and they were “confident he will fulfil his commitments to the club.”
Those would include jetting off with the rest of the squad for the start of Arsenal’s Asia tour, where the Gunners will play a Malaysia XI at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur at the start of next week and is followed by a friendly against Premier League champions Manchester City at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium on July 27.