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The Robin van Persie transfer saga has been raging for almost as long as we can remember but at long last it's over, after his move to Manchester United was confirmed on Wednesday evening.

Earlier this year the Dutchman was every Arsenal fan's hero after a quite superb season in which he bagged a ridiculous 37 goals and won a hat-full of personal awards including the PFA Players' and Fans' Player of the Year and the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year gongs.

But then reports began to emerge that the former Feyenoord flyer was not happy at the Emirates and was thinking of leaving.

At the beginning of July, he confirmed the news that Gooners everywhere had been dreading when he revealed he would not be signing a new contract with the club.

To remind you how the story has unfolded, we've got all the stories, blogs and columns charting the saga.

September 2011 - The saga begins: It all started back at the beginning of last season. No sooner had Arsenal finally sold Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri - the former had wanted out for some time while the latter had just a year left on his deal like van Persie - the whole thing kicked off again with Dutchman RvP, when he revealed he was in no hurry to sign a new deal.

April 2012 - Enter Juve: MirrorFootball reveals van Persie's agent has been in touch with Juventus, who are keen to take the striker to Italy, though Arsene Wenger says he's "confident" van Persie will sign new Arsenal deal.

May 3 - "I'll always be a Gunner": As van Persie picks up the Football Writers' Footballer of the year award, he offers Arsenal fans hope that he will stay when he declares: "I'll always be a Gunner."

(Image: Reuters)

In his weekly column John Cross says Arsenal's transfer dealings in the summer are as much about keeping van Persie as bringing in new talent.

May 4 - Silence is deafening: In what will become a recurring theme for Arsenal press conferences, Arsene Wenger again insists that his skipper is committed to the club, but just two days later the man himself refused to speak after a 3-3 draw with Norwich, sparking further speculation about his future.

May 9 - Italian job: Italian giants Juventus are again linked with a move for van Persie after general director Giuseppe Marotta says the Dutchman would be the "icing on the cake" for his team - however it is believed the player himself is only interest in a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid.

May 12 - Girl power: Van Persie's wife and mum are quoted saying they both hope their man sticks with Arsenal because they love living in London. "As a family, we love it here... We don’t want to upset things at home either. Our kids, Shaqueel and Dina, go to school here in London. And they are just as happy as we are," says Mrs RvP.

(Image: Getty)

May 14 - Manchester City join the party: The super-rich Citizens are linked with a £25million move for van Persie, with £250k a week wages, though Wenger and the Arsenal board are ready to make their wantaway skipper stick to the terms of his contract and stay for another year.

John Cross spells out the reality for van Persie in his weekly column, telling the Dutchman if you move abroad you'll still be an Arsenal legend... go to Manchester and you'll be hated as a traitor.

May 16 - Game changer: John Cross reveals van Persie has told club chiefs he is unhappy at the club and is ready to quit.

May 26 - Form an orderly queue: Manchester City emerge as leaders in the chase for the Dutchman, but Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Juventus and super-rich Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala are not far behind, as RvP tells Arsenal he is not interested in signing a new £130,000 a week deal.

(Image: Michael Regan)

June 4 - A nod and a wink: RvP breaks his silence. He says he won't discuss his future until after the Euros... but tells Italian press Juventus are a "great team".

June 9 - Word from the top: Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has his say on the issue, and tells his captain he'll have to leave the club if he wants to earn £200,000 plus.

June 15 - Chocs away: Van Persie scoops the PFA fans' Player of the Year award to add to his PFA players' and Writers' gongs, while Wenger wagers a chocolate bar the Dutchman won't leave for Juventus. "If he moves there I will buy you a Caramello."

July 2 - Juve got to be joking: Arsenal reject an £8million offer from Juventus.

July 4 - The thunderbolt: Van Persie reveals he will not sign a new deal with Arsenal and says he disagrees with the direction of the club, in a scathing statement on his personal website. It now appears there's no way back for the Dutchman and it is simply a case of where he will move to.

July 17 - Grinning Gunner: Robin van Persie is all smiles as he returns to training with Arsenal as AC Milan join the chase.

(Image: Getty)

John Cross takes stock of the situation from Arsenal's point of view in his weekly column:

July 20 - Fergie gets in the game: Alex Ferguson confirms Manchester United have made a bid for the Arsenal striker, as Wenger orders his captain NOT to join the club's pre-season tour of Asia.

July 25 - Getting shirty: Arsenal announce their squad numbers for the 2012-13 season and although Robin van Persie has retained his No.10 shirt, new signing Lukas Podolski has yet to receive a number - fuelling speculation he will take RvP's shirt when the Dutchman leaves.

July 27 - Angry Arsene: Furious Arsene Wenger loses his cool when asked about van Persie in a post-match press conference. “I have talked about Van Persie and I’m not talking about that question anymore. Do you ­understand?” he said.

(Image: Steve Bardens)

August 2 - Juve got to be kidding! RvP's camp appear to be going cold on Juventus amid fears their manager Antonio Conte will be caught up in a match-fixing row. John Cross' column looks at the striker's shrinking options and asks whether he could go back to Arsenal?

August 4 and 5 - Shock u-turn: Steve Stammers reveals van Persie now wants to stay at Arsenal, while John Cross says the striker has been impressed by the ambition shown by the club in the transfer market after the signed Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and close in on a deal for Santi Cazorla.

Meanwhile, Roberto Mancini throws in the towel and admits van Persie won't be joining Manchester City after all.

August 7 - Sanit arrives: Arsenal finally complete their protracted deal for Malaga star Santi Cazorla, and Arsene Wenger promises there's more to come. But will it be enough to tempt van Persie to stay?

August 8 - Come fly with me: Amid (erroneous) rumours that RvP left Arsenal's Cologne training base to fly in to Manchester, John Cross revealed that Manchester United were preparing an improved offer for the Dutchman. Meanwhile Steve Stammers used his weekly column to praise van Persie's attitude, comparing him favourably to the stropping Luka Modric over at Spurs.

August 9 - The price is £20m - to you, £25m: John Cross revealed that while Arsenal are looking for £20m for van Persie, they actually want Manchester United to pay £25m, as they consider them to be rivals. He then used his weekly Arsenal column to lift the lid on the tension between Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson and revealed why not selling RvP to United has become a point of principle for the Gunners boss.

August 13 - Your call Arsene: After getting fed up with the saga dragging on, John Cross revealed Sir Alex Ferguson has gone direct to Arsene Wenger to try to get the deal done.

August 15 - done deal! Arsenal and Manchester United confirm they have reached agreement for van Persie's move to Old Trafford. It's now all over bar the shouting, which in this case is a medical and personal terms discussions.