Cricket News - Arsenal to offer £130,000 per week and £5m signing-on fee to keep Van Persie

Arsenal to offer £130,000 per week and £5m signing-on fee to keep Van Persie

LONDON May 16: Arsenal are putting the finishing touches on a club record £7million-per-season deal to keep Robin van Persie.

Manager Arsene Wenger, chief executive Ivan Gazidis and Van Persie will meet on Wednesday for highly-anticipated talks over a new deal.

And it is understood Van Persie, who currently earns a basic wage of £70,000-per-week, will be offered a new three-year deal worth around £130,000-per-week - eclipsing the pay packages of Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas Van Persie will also be offered £5million signing-on fee if he pledges his future to the club.

Wenger will sell the sporting benefits of extending his Arsenal stay to Van Persie during talks on Tuesday rather than discussing the financial structure of his pending deal.

However, money is likely to become a key theme throughout negotiations over the coming days.

The Arsenal hierarchy accept there is unlikely to be a quickfire decision from Van Persie and his advisors over his future, despite Wenger's original hopes of having an answer before the start of Euro 2012. But the Gunners board hope to have a clearer view of their chances of committing Van Persie to a new contract by the end of the week.

As Sportsmail revealed last week, it will take an 'extraordinary' offer from an elite European club to persuade Van Persie that his future rests away from the Emirates Stadium.