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Wenger: Juve blew their chance to sign Van Persie

Robin van Persie has settled in quickly at Manchester United © PA Photos

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has criticised the way Juventus attempted to sign Robin van Persie - with the Italian club admitting they should have been more aggressive in their bid for the Dutchman's services.

It was believed that Juve made a low offer - somewhere in the region of £7 million - for former Gunners star Van Persie, who eventually moved to Manchester United for around £23 million.

Wenger confirmed as much as he told Corriere dello Sport: "Juventus can't think about selling their players for €70 million and then buying new ones for a tenth of that amount. That would be too easy - it's not possible in today's football.

"Van Persie would have been a free agent in the summer of 2013 but we decided to sell only after Manchester United made a great offer."

Juve chief executive Giuseppe Marotta acknowledged that the Italian club had driven a hard bargain in their attempts to sign Van Persie, a move that undoubtedly back-fired as United eventually upped their offer.

Marotta insisted he remained happy with the club's summer transfer activity, however.

"I have regrets about Van Persie, but it would have been a bad choice for the club if we had paid €30m for a player who would have seen his contract expire next year," Marotta told Tuttosport. "We are happy with the business we were able to carry out.

"We hit our targets with the acquisition of good, young players with reasonable salaries - [Kwadwo] Asamoah, [Mauricio] Isla and [Sebastian] Giovinco.

"There is another fact which must not be overlooked, the fact that we kept [Claudio] Marchisio and [Arturo] Vidal, who were wanted by Bayern Munich."

Juventus ended up drafting in another Arsenal forward, Nicklas Bendtner, in a loan deal on deadline day. Wenger insisted he remains a big fan of the striker, even suggesting the Denmark international could have a future with the Gunners.

"Bendtner can do well in Italy," Wenger said. "He's a top player for me but he's had his difficulties here. You can't doubt the player's value though.

"We believe in him and that is why we only gave him to Juventus on loan. I think he can resolve his problems with us and prove himself."

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