Wenger unimpressed by Feyenoord tactics in Van Persie move

Arsene wenger has voiced his displeasure at Feyenoord's apparent attempt to force up the price for their striker Robin van Persie by publicly revealing Arsenal's bid.

Wenger was still not confirming yesterday whether he had made a move for Persie, even though Feyenoord said they had turned down a bid earlier this week and were awaiting a revised offer. The Arsenal manager fears the Dutch club are trying to raise the price for the 19-year-old by revealing the Gunners' interest openly.

"Have we signed him? No we haven't. Have we approached Feyenoord? I cannot tell you that as we always keep our negotiations secret," he said. "All I can say is when a chairman comes out and says that Arsenal have made a bid, he is putting the player on the market. It is then difficult for him to keep the player."

That, however, could be Feyenoord's intention, given that they risk losing a prized asset on a free transfer at the end of next season. It is not the first time this month that a club has publicly revealed the refusal of a bid, with Charlton and Fulham having done the same with Scott Parker and Louis Saha, respectively.

Wenger stopped short of being directly critical of Feyenoord, given that he may still wish to do business with them. However, he said: "It's getting very difficult in our business to be masters of things. Once things are public, you have even less influence on things so, of course, that's a worry for me.

"You only provoke competition as you might have been on a case alone. You can also provoke local reaction against the deal, with possibly fans putting pressure on the chairman not to sell. Multiple things can possibly harm a deal that can sometimes be done quietly."

Asked if such a tactic would make him less likely to sign a player, Wenger nevertheless admitted: "No, I'd just say that it makes it more difficult and it could be more expensive.

"Does it force a price war? Not always but it can happen. I don't know what the interest of making it public is if you want to make a deal."

Meanwhile, the Arsenal goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann, has admitted a misconduct charge over a ball-throwing incident in a match against Southampton last month. Lehmann and the Southampton striker Kevin Phillips were charged with improper conduct after clashing during Arsenal's 1-0 Premier League win at St Mary's on 29 December. Lehmann is likely to be suspended and/or fined by the Football Association.