RVP wind-up stunt confirmed

Arsenal fans can breath a little easier about the future of Robin van Persie after rumours of a secret trip to Manchester were quashed.

It had been suggested in some quarters that the Dutch international has flown to the North-West this week which sparked speculation he was house hunting ahead of a £30m move to Manchester City. The 28-year-old has been repeatedly linked with a switch to the Premier League champions since the end of the season and is still in contract dispute with the Gunners. Former England and Lancashire cricketer Neil Fairbrother used his Twitter account on Wednesday to announce Van Persie had just arrived to take lunch at a swanky restaurant in Hale, Cheshire. Scores of fans quickly made a dash for the millionaires' enclave, which is populated by players from both City and Manchester United. Various newspapers have since carried the supposed visit, but high-level sources have revealed is was an elaborate hoax cooked-up between Fairbrother and ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan. The pair wanted to wind-up celeb Arsenal fan Piers Morgan, who has millions of Twitter followers and regularly uses his account to talk up Arsene Wenger's team. Van Persie has been back in Amsterdam visiting family since Holland's disastrous exit from the European Championships.