Van Persie turned down £1m

Robin van Persie turned down the chance to earn another £1million when he opted to join Arsenal in a £3.5m transfer from Dutch side Feyenoord.

The 20-year-old striker will earn around £700,000 a year from his four-year deal at Highbury - but Spaniards Sevilla offered him another £250,000 a year to play in La Liga.

Van Persie, who came close to joining Arsenal during the January transfer window, put personal ambition above financial gain to realise his dream of playing for the Premiership champions.

He said: "I am not after money. I want to play where I am happy and feel I will be happy at Arsenal."

Van Persie, rated as one of the most exciting young talents in Holland, revealed that his father, Bob, and his advisor also tried to persuade him to go to PSV Eindhoven, who were willing to match Feyenoord's asking price. Van Persie added: "As soon as I knew there was the chance to go to Arsenal, I wasn't going anywhere else. I was told there were quite a few clubs who wanted me but I can learn everything about football at Arsenal. I had talks with the manager Arsene Wenger and I could see that the club breathe football. They have passion and everything I long for at a big club.

"Once you have been to Arsenal and meet the people in charge you know why they are on their way to being one of the biggest clubs in the world. When you add it all up - going to a big new stadium, the football they are playing, the players already there, the style of the management - you don't have to say more."