Mancini ready to swoop for Van Persie if Arsenal falters in bid to retain him

London, Jun 2(ANI): Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has once again indicated that he is ready to grab Holland international Robin Van Persie if Arsenal fails to hold on to their skipper.

Van Persie's contract with Arsenal ends in a year's time, and Mancini has made no secret of his desire to reunite last season's Premier League top scorer with his old teammates Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy.

It would still take an offer in the region of 25 million pounds to sign Van Persie, but Mancini believes that is more realistic than the 45 million pound price tag Napoli have put on his other target, Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani.

"Who would I choose between Van Persie and Cavani? The Dutchman is a champion, while the Uruguayan has everything and I wanted to take him to Inter Milan when he played at Palermo. But it's impossible to sign Cavani at his current price - with Van Persie it's different," The Daily Mail quoted Mancini, as saying.

"Van Persie is a top-class player. His situation is different than when we signed Clichy and Nasri. It was difficult for Arsene Wenger to keep them in London. We will sign a striker if one of our forwards leave," he added. (ANI)