Former Tottenham Director of Football David Pleat has revealed that he almost signed Robin van Persie for Spurs before the striker ultimately joined Arsenal.
Van Persie spent eight years at Arsenal between 2004 and 2012, scoring 132 goals in 278 appearances during this stint in North London.
While he left in contentious circumstances, joining the Gunners’ rivals Manchester United, few Arsenal fans would argue that the Dutchman wasn’t exceptional for Arsene Wenger’s side.
However, he very nearly spent his time in North London at a club based in N17 and not N5.
David Pleat almost signed Robin van Persie for Tottenham
Van Persie spent his formative years at Feyenoord, joining the Dutch giants’ academy at the age of 16 in 1999.
Making his debut in the 2001/02 season, he quickly established himself as a mainstay in the Rotterdam club’s first team.
Scoring 15 goals across all competitions in 2002/03, at the age of just 20, several clubs across Europe started paying attention to the talented young player, who was at that time a wide man.
He’d eventually sign for Arsenal in 2004 for £2.75 million, but David Pleat has revealed that he almost landed Van Persie for Tottenham before this.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Podcast, Pleat revealed that he went to watch the Netherlands international at Feyenoord, but didn’t like the look of him.
“Is it true you scouted Robin van Persie for Spurs before he joined Arsenal?” Pleat was asked.
“I went to see van Persie play for Feyenoord, came on as a sub. The manager was Ruud Gullit,” he replied.
“I have to tell you, once again, so you’ve caught me on a bad day today, I didn’t fancy him. He came on a sub, his shirt was out, his shorts, he had long hair, his socks were rolled down. He looked at his grace.
“The man who told me to go and get him was a man called Steve Stammers, a journalist in London; his son was a big Arsenal supporter, and he knew Arsenal had been looking at him, and Arsenal were.
“They were, for all sorts of reasons, which I realised, he was a bit of a Bohemian. He was a big character, family-wise. Now, manager of Feyenoord, you know.
“Anyway, I went to watch him. I didn’t fancy him. I came back quite simply and said, you couldn’t take him on that.
“He came on a sub, 20 minutes. But, and once again, what we should have done, it’s easy for me to say this now, Arsenal had already not gone ahead and done it, but I knew they were looking at him, but they had decided at that time not to do it.
“And the man called Steve Rowley, God rest his soul, big, lovely man, chief scout of Arsenal, they went back and took the gamble. His price had come down for about two and a half million pounds, and he went from Feyenoord to Arsenal and did wonderfully well. And he’s now manager of Feyenoord.”
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What would have happened had Tottenham signed Robin van Persie?
It would’ve been very interesting to see what Van Persie’s career trajectory would’ve been had he signed for Spurs.
The left-footed forward would’ve been playing in a side that wasn’t perennially competing at the top of the Premier League, and thus, he might have struggled to develop in the way he did at Arsenal.
That said, such was the prodigious nature of his talent, he would likely’ve found a way to make it to the top. After a few successful seasons at White Hart Lane, it’s possible that another club in Europe, or Manchester United or Chelsea, would’ve picked him up.
Meanwhile, at Arsenal, things might have been different on the striker front. Wenger may have pushed harder to sign one of the up-and-coming strikers of that era, or he may have promoted from within.
Players like Carlos Vela and Nicklas Bendtner might have got more of a look-in, and could potentially have developed into much better players.
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