In the summer of 2004, a haughty young man with the reputation of having rifts with the coach was signed by Arsene Wenger. This lad was seen as the future successor to Arsenal legend, Dennis Bergkamp and at that point but few would have expected him to fill the shoes of arguably the greatest foreign player to grace the English league.
This stemmed from the fact that this Dutchman had the reputation of being a trouble maker and to fill the shoes of Bergkamp is going to be no easy task and that is a huge understatement.
Seven years down the lane, the name Robin van Persie brings joy to Gunners’ fans and at the same time there is a sense of disappointment as well. Disappointment not because he let down the Arsenal fans, but disappointment because had it not been for constant injuries, van Persie could easily be one of the best players in the world.
The technical skill is there, the ruthlessness in front of goal is there for all to see, the tactical acumen is evident. But when a player has played more than 40 games a season just twice, it just goes to show how injury prone he is. Sadly, the same applies to van Persie.
In the last four seasons, when fit there has hardly been any player who has matched the performances of the mercurial Dutchman as he has dazzled whenever fit.
Since the turn of the year, it is fair to say that van Persie has been the hottest striker in the league as he has found the back of the net an impressive, 16 times and 19 times in all competitions. This year there has been no striker who has performed so admirably as van Persie has done for the Gunners and few in world football have been playing so brilliantly this year. We all know that van Persie when fit can score for fun and can score against any opposition but no one would have expected him to score 19 goals from January to May with that figure looking likely to increase in the last two matches.
Van Persie is currently on a run of having scored in the last eight games he has played, a feat no other player in the history of the English Premier League has achieved.
It may be a tad unfair to credit the performances of an entire team due to a single player but sadly it is fair to say that Arsenal’s 16 game unbeaten run was largely due to van Persie’s brilliance in front of goal and the spark he brought to the entire Arsenal side.
For a team that is often praised for its attacking flair and prowess, one gets the feeling that it is only with van Persie in the team that Arsenal’s creative players truly thrive. While players like Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner undoubtedly have tonnes of potential, they lack the creativity, guile and more importantly the ruthlessness of van Persie.
This season it was during January and February that the Gunners truly became rampant as they beat teams like Chelsea, Barcelona in this period and packed off minnows like West Ham, Wigan, Wolves with consummate ease, something they struggled to do earlier, in the absence of van Persie.
Last season Arsenal took on Chelsea, Manchester United and Chelsea a total of six times and lost all but one as they drew against Barcelona. In these six matches, the closest the Gunners came to actually beating any of these teams was Manchester United in the league as they narrowly and unfortunately lost 2-1 to the Red Devils. It’s interesting to note that, that was the only match van Persie played against any of the teams and that was the only match in which the Gunners truly put up a fight as van Persie had a goal ruled out for offside in the last minute.
Van Persie’s biggest strength lies in his movement as he tends to drop deep, opening up space for the likes of Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri to exploit. His tendency to move around and create space for the midfielders, causes havoc for the defenders who have a miserable time, marking players like Walcott and Nasri as their central running can marking very tough.
His habit of dropping deep and moving to the wings, is one of the main reasons why he has so many assists with eight this season including one for Aaron Ramsey for the winner against Manchester United as the Gunners beat Sir Alex Ferguson’s men for the first time in eight attempts.
But his constant movement sometimes results in the Gunners lacking a target man in the box and while van Persie is hardly to blame for this, he may benefit playing as a second striker, where he can use his vision and movement to greater effect.
But all of his brilliance does mean one thing: opposition players and teams would love to have such a prolific and lethal striker in their team. Teams like Inter Milan have expressed their interest in the Dutchman before, but Arsenal fans have not for a moment feared losing their top striker to any other club. Considering Arsenal’s six year barren run and with the fact that van Persie has won just the FA Cup back in 2005, it is fair to assume that most players might contemplate a move away from the Emirates.
But with van Persie it has always been a bit different. Van Persie has always expressed his love for the red and white of Arsenal and has forever expressed his love for the Gunners and their way of playing.
This is what van Persie had to stay about his future at Arsenal and this is just a further indicator of his commitment and desire to achieve success at Arsenal.
"I don't have the inclination to go anywhere. This is the best team for me to be in.
"The bottom line is that I want to win trophies with Arsenal, not with anybody else. I know you can win trophies in many countries and in many ways, but I want to do that in our way and in an Arsenal shirt.
"I'm sure I could win things at another team in another country, but would it feel like our trophy, my trophy? I'm not sure it would. Anything we win here will come from the heart and that's what I want.
"It's my dream and I see no point in speaking about other teams when I have these dreams. I think other people know that about me; I'm just hungry to win with Arsenal and that's it."
Very often Arsenal are often accused of having no passion and desire and van Persie’s comments just go onto show his desire to win trophies with Arsenal. His commitment and desire need to seep to through his teammates who sometimes have an habit of giving up far too easily. Players like Fabregas are often accused of lacking passion but the same complaint is rarely made against the ex-Feyenoord man. His dedication and commitment will translate into a never say attitude on the pitch that can help the Gunners fight and develop a winning mentality.
In recent teams, Arsenal fans have been witness to some of their top players like Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri contemplate their future in regards to Arsenal’s failure to win a trophy.
Despite his injury concerns and offers from both clubs, both parties have never contemplated the sale of van Persie away from Arsenal. Van Persie is testimony to Wenger’s great skill as a mentor and as a guiding figure for young players. Not many managers would have taken the risk of signing a controversial player like van Persie. But Wenger went ahead with the transfer and it is fair to say that it has been a great success.
Arsenal’s hunt for a trophy will continue for sure next season and next season will be a do or die season for the Gunners. Arsenal will definitely need their flying Dutchman to be fit for the entire season because when fit, few strikers in world football are as good as him.
For Arsenal, van Persie represents a class act, both on the pitch and in his dedication and commitment to the great club that Arsenal is.
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