Van Persie stall puts Chelsea on red alert

Robin Van Persies failure to commit his long term future to Arsenal has alerted rivals Chelsea who are interested in replacing Fernando Torres if a deal can be done. Arsenal are determined not to lose their star player and club captain and will try desperately in the coming weeks to tie the Dutchman down to a new deal.

After scoring his 100th Arsenal goal at home to Bolton on Saturday, Van Persie confirmed he wanted he put a hold on talks for the time being. With Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leaving the club in the summer Van Persie may question Arsenals ambition and be willing to move on should the opportunity be presented to him.

Chelsea themselves are beginning to lose patience with Fernando Torres despite his backing from the Chelsea fans. They see Van Persie as an ideal replacement for Torres and are willing to make a bid of around £30million if they can ship Torres out in January.