In October 2010, an injured Robin Van Persie saw his squad beat Roberto Mancini’s team, who then had clearly shown their intention and financial resolve. The encounter concluded with a one sided score line of 3 – 0, where the North London Outfit ensured victory with goals from Samir Nasri, Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner. Arsenal were on a very decent run then, beating Chelsea shortly before and by February 2011, the Dutch striker had written off his injury. Back to action with displays of football ingenuity and some beautifully finishing , he revealed how he could not imagine leaving the Emirates also reiterating his devotion to the club’s quest for honours. By the end of February 2011, Van Persie was awarded EA Sports Player of the Month.
A lot of noise surrounding the type of football expected of him at full fitness surfaced from pundits and critics alike… confidence was building up and with near-flawless performances as back up, the new Arsenal captain spoke of his irritation at the moaning of Barca and Chelsea players to Sky Sports stating, “The Barca players were always complaining and moaning and that’s something I dislike about them. In England, Chelsea players do the same. Barca are a great team but they don’t have to exaggerate their continuous moaning, otherwise it becomes very irritating on the pitch.” By that time, the Arsenal team had just suffered a shock final Carling Cup defeat to Birmingham followed by a UEFA Champions League exit by Barcelona and the FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Reds.
Today, the Gunners sit third in the league table and their captain miraculously managed to stay fit through the season, engraving his name once and for all in the hall of fame. The Dutchman’s contribution to Arsenal was more than vital as his manager recently pointed out while also challenging the rest of his squad to alleviate the burden of netting from the 28-year old Footballer of the Year who made 47 appearances in all competitions for his club, assisting 14 times and scoring a staggering 37 times… plummeting Arsène Wenger’s £ 2.75 million signing from Feyenoord to the same ranks as the top names of the footballing industry’s most coveted assets. Like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Rooney, Van Persie showed the world the artistry in the perfect impact on a football… from lob passes to tricky one-twos, pin-point accurate distribution to logic-defying curlers, the Arsenal’s captain has amazed the footballing scene all around the world and his current contract still being unsorted must probably be giving his manager some serious thoughts.
The confident Arsène Wenger recently stated his peace of mind with the Dutchman’s contract but then again, isn’t the French tactician always full of confidence? Podolski’s arrival seems to match the level hopefuls at the Emirates were expecting for and the transfer of M’Vila’s if it happens, would be a clear statement of intent. However, it seems hard to forget how Arshavin and Chamakh were meant to be the saviours for the Gunners not so long ago and whilst the Arsenal captain has always kept his word and never showed signs of disbelief for his club, in this day and age reassurance seems to be a myth in the footballing world. When tokens can be thrown in whatsoever way and feasibility is usually just a matter of digits, the prediction of a footballer’s fate must be one of the hardest tasks for even the greatest astronomers. Clichy and Nasri might ring a bell to the Arsenal fans. Or even worse, “Cashley”? There’s usually always a next one, who might that be?
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