Robin van Persie has claimed Arsenal never offered him a new contract before deciding to join Manchester United.
The Dutchman controversially completed a £24million move to the Gunners’ title rivals in 2012.
Van Persie went on to score 26 goals as Manchester United clinched a record 13th Premier League title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge.
The striker, whose move to Old Trafford did not go down well with Arsenal fans, reckons Gunners chiefs grew ‘tired’ of him.
He told BT Sport: “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 [Manchester] City or Manchester United. 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 [Arsene] Wenger, with [Ivan] Gazidis. They gave me no decision to make.”
