Just holding the line in negotiations.
He will say nothing to give a bidder any reason to think he may have resigned himself to Van Persie leaving if he's said privately that he will not leave for less than a certain amount. Instead make it seem like we are going to take a lot of persuading indeed.
In my opinion he did the same last summer when he linked Cesc and Nasri to our ambitions and dignity. There's always a grain of truth to these absolute declarations which makes them all the more powerful.
