There are two viewpoints that I hold about Arsenal that I know put me in the vast minority.

The first is that Thierry Henry shouldn’t have a statue at Arsenal.

The second is that Arsenal were right to sell Robin van Persie to Manchester United in 2012.

I’ve elaborated on the first in last week’s column, here’s why the second isn’t as awful as it seems;

Seeing van Persie virtually romp his way to the league title, carrying Man United on his back as if he was Dora the Explorer walking through England, sucked balls.

There’s no denying that.

But as soon as van Persie said he wasn’t signing a new contract with Arsenal, any leverage the club had to get ‘market value’ disappeared. Yet, even though van Persie was 29, with one year left on his deal and a history of ankle injuries, Arsenal indeed got market value for him.

Here’s the list of players bought by all 20 PL clubs in the summer of 2012 that cost more than the Dutchman;

• Eden Hazard – £32m

That’s it.

Manchester United offered £24m. Juventus offered £8m.

That £16m difference is what brought Santi Cazorla to the club.

Van Persie wasn’t going to win the league in his final year at Arsenal, just like Alexis isn’t now.

With Liverpool spending £75m on Virgil van Dijk and Tottenham about to move into their new stadium, Arsenal need all the financial might they can muster in order to keep up.

That means taking tough decisions and selling Alexis in the middle of a dogfight for 4th place is one of them.

But if that money is spent on improving the team (Here’s an idea; buy an actual defensive midfielder so that you can play both Wilshere and Ramsey in the same team!!!) then it’ll be worth it.

At least with Özil, there’s a possibility he might stay, and if you’re going to be paying a 33 year old £275k a week, I’d rather it was on the player who doesn’t rely on his pace as much like Özil, than someone who relies on explosive dribbling like Alexis.