Alisher Usmanov and Farhad Moshiri, Arsenal’s major shareholders, have hit out at the club’s board after Robin van Persie’s decision not to extend his contract with the north London club.

The Netherlands international has decided not to renew his expiring deal at the Emirates stadium and as such will leave the side next summer, if not before.

The wealthy shareholders have placed the blame on the board for the loss of the team’s star player.

“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,” the duo said in a joint statement, published in Sky Sports.

“All of that, naturally, comes at the expense of performance on the pitch.

“This policy is leading to the loss of our best players, often to our main competitors, and even causes the players themselves to question their future at the club and the club’s ambitions.

“The situation with our captain and outstanding performer from last season, Robin van Persie, sums this up.

“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 that this doesn’t happen again and again in the future?

“As a top club we should, at the very least, match if not beat the offers that other clubs make to try and lure our very best players away, and also provide a more compelling vision of the future.

“You can try and put a good face on a bad game for as long as you want, pontificating about the merits of this model, but it will not hide the obvious fact that it just does not allow our great manager to fully realise his managerial talent and deliver success for the fans who are paying the highest prices in the land,” it concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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