Robin van Persie: 'Why shouldn’t Arsenal sign a player for £25m?'

The Dutch forward has insisted the club need to sign a big name this summer and keep hold of wantaway midfielder Cesc Fabregas if they are to compete for the Premier League

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie says he sees no reason why the club cannot buy a player for £25 million.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been reluctant in the past to spend big on new signings, instead focusing on the club’s development from the youth team.

But Van Persie says Arsenal, who signed Gervinho from Lille on Monday, insists big money needs to be spent to sign “proper players”.

When asked if Arsenal should buy a player for £25m, he was quoted as saying by The Mirror: “Why not?

“These days, proper players cost money. Sometimes you see players go for loads of money and you think, 'Is he that good?' It needs to be seen. Most of the time, they are.

“But the main thing is it’s not just a label, 'multi-million pound signing', it’s more about the quality. If you buy a player who’s got one year left normally he’s not going to be worth £40m or £50 million, he’ll be a bit less.

“So it’s not really that you get a clear picture of how good someone is when you play a lot. It depends on loads of things.”

He added: “You need investment to keep up because, when you look around, Man City is buying loads of good players, Liverpool are doing it now, Man United have been doing it for years.

“So, in a way, you need to keep that up, because if everyone is doing something you need to do it as well.

“I think it’s a good thing that we have competition. Everyone needs competition because no one really wants to go to sleep.

"I think in an ideal world no one is really sure of his place - maybe the captain and the goalkeeper but all the other players shouldn’t really be knowing before that they will play. It’s always good to have competition and be on your toes.”

Van Persie also said he hopes captain Cesc Fabregas will stay at the club this summer.

The Spain international has been strongly linked with a return to Barcelona, but Van Persie says his team-mate is a “special player” and should remain at the Emirates.

He said: "From my own situation, he [Fabregas] is the one I first look at to see if he is playing or not. We have a connection - he knows exactly when to pass, exactly when to make his decisions in the game.

"He is quicker in his mind than most other players. That is very special. For example, one game against Blackpool away, I think in the first 18 minutes he gave me four or five unbelievable passes. I was one against one.

"I missed them, but he gave them to me.

"He is a really special player. He can see things quicker than others. He would be a miss for any team. That is why I hope that he stays and we can play on a bit longer together because I really rate him."