Van Persie WON'T quit Arsenal in January

Robin van Persie will snub a potential January move to give Arsenal every chance of keeping him.

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain and billionaire-backed Russian side Anzhi are all ready to pounce for the Dutch forward and could be ready to make offers in the winter window.

But Van Persie, who will have just one year left on his contract at the end of the season, will make it clear he is determined to stay for the rest of the campaign and see if the club can meet his ambitions.

The 28-year-old is keen to stay in the Champions League and is anxious Arsenal have a squad strong enough to remain competitive, but has also reiterated his commitment to the club.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has already hinted he is ready to buy again in January if the squad needs strengthening, and the club will be desperate to finish in the top four so they will be in Europe's top competition again next season.

However, unless Van Persie signs a new deal, Arsenal will face a similar dilemma to the one involving Samir Nasri last summer.

Eventually, they sold Nasri to Manchester City for £22million rather than allow him walk away for free next year.

Arsenal hope to start negotiations with Van Persie soon, but it is unlikely the Dutchman will commit himself before the end of the season.

Wenger believes he can persuade his captain to stay.

He said: “I don’t think I will lose Robin. But if a player who has a choice of two clubs with the same ­ambition, they’ll go for the club who pay more.

“If the players leave it’s not linked to titles. Players don’t go to Manchester City for titles, they go for money.

“We’re coming back slowly. We’re not too far from fourth place, but first place is out of reach at the moment.”

Gunners legend Nigel Winterburn, however, says the club face a battle to keep their skipper.

Winterburn, told talkSPORT: "Robin van Persie is looking at the situation at Arsenal and he's just seen two of the top players [Nasri and Cesc Fabregas] leave, so he's not going to sign a new contract at this moment in time.

"How do you change that? Well, the team needs to start winning games and Arsene Wenger needs to strengthen the team, if he thinks he needs to, in January. Then [strengthen] again at the end of the season.

"If Arsene Wenger does that, Van Persie will sign again.

"If he doesn't, then there's always the possibility that Van Persie will say, 'Listen, I've given my all to Arsenal, but I'm now going to let my contact run down and at the end of it I need a fresh challenge.'"