Van Persie contract talks ‘on hold’

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie says contract talks with the Gunners are on hold until the end of the season.The Dutch star disclosed: “There have been a lot of stories, generally contradictory ones, about my contract situation recently so I’d like to make it clear.“There’s nothing complicated or sinister - the club and I have both agreed to speak at the end of the season and see how things stand. The boss, Ivan Gazidis and I are all comfortable with it.“I need all my focus to be on football - on captaining this team, improving every day, doing extra work on the training pitch and preparing for the very busy schedule of fixtures we have.“If I look down the list, there’s not much time to sit down and think about anything else!“For me, this is a time to play football and not speak about personal things. All of my energy needs to go on getting this team where we want it to be this season.”The in-form 28-year-old Dutch international has been the subject of speculation linking him with a move away from the Emirates Stadium with his current deal expiring in 2013.