Robin van Persie has given a rare insight into his final days at Arsenal and the fury he felt after the club attempted to persuade him to stay by showing off their healthy finances.
The Dutchman turned into a global superstar during his time with the Gunners, but grew increasingly tired of the club being unable to compete at the highest level.
Speaking this week to Dutch presenter Kaj Gorgels on his official YouTube channel, Van Persie admitted one of the final straws during his time in north London was the club explicitly showing him their preference for off-field financial success.
Van Persie said: 'At Arsenal, I didn’t feel like we were on the level to compete.
'One day, The chairman of Arsenal showed me how healthy the club was by showing me their positive numbers.
'I told him: "I don’t give a s*** about these numbers, I want to lift the Premier League trophy."
Peter Hill-Wood was the chairman of Arsenal during Van Persie's spell with the club, before he stepped down and was replaced by Sir Chips Keswick in 2013.
Van Persie even admitted he could have moved to Juventus when he left the Emirates, only for a deal to go uncompleted and an eventual transfer to bitter rivals Manchester United be rubber-stamped instead.
'We felt it would be best to leave for a club outside of England, the deal with Juventus was closed. But the chairman of Arsenal was stubborn towards Juventus,' he revealed.
'I told him that my other two other options were Manchester United or Manchester City, so it’s his own risk."
'My departure from Arsenal to Manchester United is still a sensitive topic in England.
'But I wanted to win, I just wanted to win. And I had to take a risk for that,' Van Persie added.
The striker went on to be a resounding success at Old Trafford, firing in the goals to crown Sir Alex Ferguson's side champions of England once again.
Van Persie collected the title-winners medal he craved while with United, along with a victory in the 2013 Community Shield.
With Arsenal Van Persie won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and reached the Champions League final with the club in 2006, losing to Barcelona in the final.