Van Persie is leaving - FIFA 13 says so!

After watching Arsenal Player today, I'm convinced that Mikel Arteta will be the next Arsenal skipper. Why? Looking at FIFA 13, which features Arsenal's new away kit, it was all about Arteta. The Spanish midfielder was certainly the start of the show and Robin van Persie was conspicuous by his absence. I've even got a funny feeling that Robin van Persie will be stripped of the captaincy.

Running out on the pitch I could see the following players: Bacari Sagna, Jack Wilshire, Aaron Ramsey, Per Mertesacke, Lukas Podolski, Thomas Vermaelen, Thomas Rosicky Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain and Theo Walcott. But where was van Persie?

Of course, van Persie is likely to turn up in some other kit for EA Sports' latest game. What a strange way to discover once and for all that the van Persie era at Arsenal is now over!

There is a chance it that it could just be a publicity stunt by EA Sports, but I'd like to think the company is bigger than that and would not resort to such activities to generate interest in their product. If that is the case and van Persie stays, then it could spectacularly backfire as droves of Arsenal fans may refuse to buy this latest game that does not include the team's best player. Then again, perhaps the club colluded in the decision to leave van Persie out of the game in an effort to heap pressure on the Dutchman to reconsider his decision not to sign a new deal. That would seem to be something of a longshot though.

Let's just hope we get a whopping transfer fee for his services and bring in the defensive reinforcements that we need to sustain a title challenge this season. For if we can win something, we can make van Persie regret his decision to leave the club.