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Robin Van Persie has declared that his decision to join Manchester United came about because Arsenal didn't offer him a new contract.

United paid £22million for Van Persie who subsequently played a pivotal part in their Premier League title win in 2013 - Sir Alex Ferguson's final season at the helm.

However, his decision to head to the north west didn't go down well with supporters at The Emirates.

They were not pleased that the Dutchman left for a Premier League rival, but Van Persie insists there was no choice for him but to leave North London.

At the time Van Persie was Arsenal's captain, 29 and believing his career was far from over, was looking for a new contract.

(Image: Getty Images)

However, when one wasn't forthcoming, he was forced to seek an opportunity elsewhere.

He told BT Sport: "You can compare me being at Arsenal to being married. Me and my wife - Arsenal - were married for eight years.

"After eight years, my wife, possibly got a bit tired of me. Those are the facts.

"If Arsenal are not offering you a new deal...you can have different views on things but the fact is Arsenal never offered me a new deal.

"Then you have to look around. I was ambitious. I still wanted to win the league. That is life."

(Image: Action Images)

The Dutchman had three options to choose from when he left Arsenal: the two Manchester clubs and one club abroad.

He said: "I ended up having three options. One option abroad disappeared quickly. Then it was City or Manchester United .

"What people don't know, during the transfer, loads of things are happening behind the scenes. You have to take a lot on and make a choice based on what your targets are but also deal with the facts.

"One of the main facts was that Arsenal got tired of me. That was the starting point - they didn't offer me a new deal. We had loads of chats with Wenger , with [Ivan] Gazidis .

"They gave me no decision to make."