Robin van Persie is a lad who is brimming with confidence and with 6 goals in 5 consecutive games for club and country, you might understand why. Speaking to the Mirror, Arsenal’s Dutch striker has issued a rallying cry for his club next season:
Arsene Wenger said at the end of this season, once I’d come back into the team, that people would have been talking about me like Lionel Messi if I had not been injured. And I want to go through next season where I score 30 goals and have 20 assists. Only then I will turn around to the manager and say, ‘Yes boss, you are right’.
It’s true that many Gooners forgot what they had after Robin went out injured from a hefty Chiellini challenge during an International friendly in November of 2009. But the 26 year old Dutch international reminded Gooners of the class he brings to the table after only his second full start for the club after the horrific injury left him out for 6 months.
Since making his comeback, Robin van Persie is a player on the very top of his game and Arsenal supporters will be licking their lips at the prospect of having a legitimate killer threat up front for a whole season.
38 League games from Robin seems like an impossibility for Arsenal fans now. But with the Dutch #9 having firmly established himself as the starter up front, he might not need to compete for spots on his country’s team next year and could find himself getting “cramps” or whatever injuries miraculously kept Chelsea’s internationals from serving during the same period that saw van Persie’s season destroyed.
Despite the injury stricken season, van Persie managed to score 9 League goals and bag a further 7 assists in just 16 games making his boast of 30 and 20 a bit of a stretch but if he could stay healthy and get 21 goals and 16 assists Arsenal would almost certainly be considered title contenders. And with the 26 year old scoring 6 goals in his last 5 games, he certainly looks the part.
Here are all of the goals he’s scored since his comeback from injury, enjoy and let candy cane dreams of Arsenal trophies dance in your head…
May 3 @ Blackburn Rovers
May 9, home against Fulham
May 26 against Mexico (turn the sound ALL THE WAY UP for the full experience)
May 26 against Mexico again, same play different foot, better finish
June 1 penalty v. Ghana (Snjieder’s goal is better)
June 5 v. Hungary
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Seriously though,love your site.Keep doing what you’re doing.
RVP has become absolutely lethal!some fans talk about how we lack a finisher with all chances we create but how do they come?robin in the false nine role drags defenders all over the place creating space for cesc and AA to create those chances.eddy/AA played there when rvp got injured and our goal average halved from 3.7 to 1.5 despite eddy being more of a no.9.this is because rvp breaks down the walls for our attackers and without him we looked static and slow.rvp is also unselfish and takes a split second to make a decision in front of goal which resulted us in scoring 55goals in 19 matches before his injury.i pray for him to get a full season and im sure he will push us all the way in cl and pl.good luck van der man persie!!!
Robin’s first touch is ridiculous. Is there any other player right now better than him in that aspect?
An injury-free season, please!
Who was it who said we’d miss RVP more than Cesc? Arshavin in particular benefits from the space he creates… Can’t wait to see an AA RVP Chamakh alliance up front, with Theo and Bendtner on the bench. When injury free, RVP will be the main man for a few more seasons at least.
i hv last seasons home jersey printed ‘rocket robin’ on.. obviously my favourite player in the team.. pure talent!!
but he’ll trip over a blade of grass and get injured again as always..
if we rely on him to win the title.. we hv no chance.. truth!! we need to sign another striker..
I watched the first youtube clip, and I’m worried the the number of times van Persie got knocked down, charged down, almost got his leg broken by Pedersen. He’s got such skinny little legs, and I really worry about his ability to last a season at the Arsenal. Maybe he should go to La Liga. Let’s send him down to Barcelona as a way of saying no hard feelings for stealing your boy Cesc!
I’ll admit, two years ago I didn’t think RvP was good enough to be a #1 striker, but it shows what I really know about football at the end of the day. Without question, he’s one of the best strikers in the world. That being said, though, why not take what’s clearly a strength on our squad and make it even more lethal? Splash on another 20 goal/year guy and outscore everyone this year. Oh, Adebayor, why’d you have to be such an utter c&nt?
While we’re talking about strikers, can anyone tell me why Arsene won’t put Theo at striker?
June 6th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Because strikers need a little more depth, subtelty and dimension to their game than Theo has shown.
I, for one, cannot see Theo collecting an outlet ball with a defender at his back and holding up play to wait for his midfield to support (rather, Theo would try to turn and blast up the field).
I, for one, cannot see him losing his marker(s) in the middle of the park with clever off the ball run or checking motion. (rather I see him getting the ball in traffic and trying to weasle his way through one, then two defenders before ultimately being closed down by the third).
I, for one, cannot see Theo getting in on the end of crosses with his head, or muscling a John Terry or Nemanja Vidic out of the way to get to a rebounded shot or loose ball. (rather, I see Theo falling down like he’d just run into a wall).
I, for one, cannot see Theo doing anything other than taking on fullbacks in one v. one duels, successfully getting into space behind the defenders making a cut for the net, drawing defenders and the goalkeepers out of position. This he can do as well as anyone in the world on his day, but it’s about all he can do, and thus he’s a winger/flank midfielder, and won’t ever be a out and out striker.
June 7th, 2010 at 6:16 am
Whose fault is all this, then? When we purchased Theo, he was a striker. To me, he’s not working out on the wing and I’m just wondering if we Arsene should have been or should be developing him as a striker. How many more years can we give Theo? He hasn’t really improved on the wing over the last 3 years, so what next?
June 7th, 2010 at 7:19 am
I disagree – I think Theo’s finishing is weak, but when he gets a run at winger, he is a handful, and I see his development. Three years ago he barely got on the field, now he’s a defacto starter if healthy. The FA Cup semi last year he abused Ashley Cole 1v1 and only his finishing let him down.
In no way am I suggesting Theo’s a lost cause, only that his natural position is out wide where his abilities to get to, and exploit space are best seen. Do we need to worry about Theo finishing with his head or chesting down a 40 yard hoof from Tommy V and shielding it from a Carvahlo or Ferdinand while they hack at his ankles? No. We have RVP, Chamahk and Bendtner to do those things.
June 7th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Again, Arsene bought him and he was a striker. His crossing is barely better than Clichy and Sagna’s and if he really has improved, would Capello have cut him loose? He made some really good plays this year, as he has for the last few years. But the consistency is just not getting there. I just wonder if he should be making the switch from winger than Henry made back when he was young and first coming to Arsenal.
Yes, I’ve been reading some other blog posts around the web arguing for Theo to be moved to striker. Thought some interesting arguments were made and thought to bring up the point again here.
I love watching RvP play, he is so unselfish and puts his heart into the game all the time, the only problem is that by doing so he seems to always put himself in harms way.
Robin is an phenomenal player with the right mentality. I hope he has an amazing World cup campaign and Shows the wold what he’s capable of.