Van Persie also has a problematic recent injury record. He has shown that when fully fit he can be amongst the best strikers in world football yet the Dutchman has struggled with injuries in recent years. Losing their captain and talisman to injury for even a short period leaves the prospect of Wenger having to fill a very big hole in his team. At present there looks to be no obvious and consistent replacement for the goals, assists and leadership that van Persie provides.
Van Persie’s eleven goals (13 in all competitions) is a commendable achievement but in turn highlights one of the main concerns in relying too much on the Dutchman. Looking past van Persie’s tally, the next highest contributor in terms of goals in the Premier League is Gervinho, Theo Walcott and Mikel Arteta each with two strikes. Van Persie has also netted nearly half of Arsenal’s goal tally so far this season in the Premier League (23 in total).
The lack of goals supporting their main striker is a concern if Arsenal face a spell without van Persie, especially from the other strikers in the squad. No team would have the luxury of four van Persie’s in one squad but the likes of Gervinho, Walcott, Marouane Chamakh and Ju Young Park need to not only be trusted by Wenger but also start to repay that faith with goals.
But it is not all doom and gloom for Arsenal. They still have one of Europe’s best players on their books with the prospect that he could help them remain in the top four for at least another season. Whilst van Persie is currently the best player at the club, there are also promising signs surrounding other key players. Aaron Ramsey is emerging as a fantastic midfielder for the Gunners whilst they still have the luxury of welcoming back exciting homegrown talent Jack Wilshere from injury.
The likelihood of van Persie’s departure in the future has neither been confirmed or denied but Wenger must continue to build and develop a team capable of better supporting the Dutchman, the failure to do so may mean Arsenal risk a heavy fall if they rely too much on Robin and end up losing him.
Do you think Arsenal are too reliant on Robin van Persie? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
Written by Jenny Kerwood for FootballFanCast.com
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Great piece of jounalism.
Arsenal should not pass to an in-form striker in case he scores too many goals, demonstrating how weak the rest of the team really is.
Maybe the writer should get out more, or search for reality on a dating site.
So, tell me something I don’t already know!
Still huffing and puffing on the embers of the “Arsenal in Crisis” narrative then?