Robin van Persie's not coming back to the Emirates as a member of Arsenal. Ever.

Nor should Arsene Wenger even consider bringing back He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned (sic, -Arsenal fans).

Not surprisingly, as van Persie gets set to make his second return to the Emirates as a member of Manchester United on Wednesday night, bizarre links and rumours (via ESPN) are surfacing mentioning a sensational, controversial move back to Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger, ever the coy one, tried to steer attention away from the rumoured return.

Per the same ESPN piece:

I don't think that's an ideal subject for us to treat today. I think it is best we don't talk about it at the moment.

Robin van Persie is a great player. We know that. It doesn't mean he has to score [against Arsenal on Wednesday]. It depends how we defend against him.

Even if there is any truth to the rumour, Arsenal shouldn't even so much as entertain bringing their former captain back.

Could he potentially be the missing piece to Arsenal's title aspirations? Maybe. Probably. No doubt, Olivier Giroud has been a revelation this term with his all-around play. But van Persie he's not. Few frontmen in the world possess the oft-otherworldly finishing talents that the enigmatic Dutchman has.

But in spite of all this, even if van Persie is pining for a triumphant return to north London, Arsenal need to dump van Persie the same way he oh-so publicly did to them.

Why? He represents a different era of Arsenal. A dark era where Arsenal bled their best players every summer.