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Joined May 2010
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So another transfer window has arrived and it looks as though another Arsenal star will be departing the North London club, frustrated by the…
[caption id="attachment_13543" width="300" caption="Queensland State of Origin coach Mal Meninga (right) and an injured Darren Lockyer (left) during the Queensland team training session. AAP…
Uninspiring, pathetic and a complete lack of conviction are just a few of the sentiments that could be used to sum up Liverpool’s loss…
True Manchester City probably aren’t the only club interested. But they do seem to be the only club that is continually linked with him. Having said that you’re right, none of us really know what’s going on behind the scenes and it may well be that a club like PSG are seriously interested.
RVP has never been injury prone? He’s spent most of his career at Arsenal and the fact is he has spent a fair amount of time out injured. Here’s an article I found on an Arsenal fans website after I read your post which documents his injuries http://www.arsenalnews.co.uk/5-reasons-why-arsenal-should-sell-robin-van-persie/link/646523/ the article also outlines other arguments I made as to why van Persie’s departure wouldn’t be armageddon for Arsenal.
But if you think he hasn’t been injury prone and that he’s just been ‘unlucky’, then how else do you account for him having missed over 40% of Arsenal’s EPL fixtures in his first 7 years at the club? Do you think he wasn’t good enough to make the first team (or come on as a sub)?
With regards to Bergkamp to be fair to Wenger when the CL final was played Bergkamp was 37 and Jens Lehman was sent off early in the match. Arsenal lead that match 1-0 well into the second half before Barca overran them, it wouldn’t have been sensbile tactics to bring on a 37 year old striker when they were down to 10 men.
Why losing van Persie isn't a disaster for Arsenal
Purple Shag,
At no stage do I suggest that RVP wasn’t a star player last season or that they weren’t heavily reliant on him (for goals anyway).
The point is that if you look at the entirety of his Arsenal career, then last year was something of an aberration. Last season he played in 100% of Arsenal’s EPL matches and scored 30 goals. In the 7 seasons prior to that he averaged not even 60% of matches and averaged 9 goals a season.
If by some chance he does decide to stay and signs a contract extension, do you really think that he’s going to be their main talisman over the next 5 years given that he’s almost 29? Or what if ends up being as injury prone as he was prior to last season?
Would you buy a Ferrari if it was broken down 40% of the time?
You’re quite right when you say that Arsenal will have a side capable of top 4 and you’re also quite right when you say that they can’t win the title. But do you really think that they could win the title with RVP anyway?
I’m NOT an Arsenal fan and I’d be lying if I said that I’ve been drowning in my tears watching Arsenal finish season after season without a tropy. But if a decent bid comes in for RVP and they sell him (which is highly likely) then I simply don’t think that it’s the end of the world for Arsenal.
Also, the fact that Manchester City seem to be the only club with serious interest in him is telling. There’s not the market for him that he thought there was.
Why losing van Persie isn't a disaster for Arsenal
The point about RL being a team sport is a perfectly valid one and of course I accept that premierships, origins etc are won by teams not individuals.
Having said that why shouldn’t we recognise the best players from each generations? Should we not bother having immortals? Should we not award a Clive Churchill medal for the best player in the GF? (An award which both honours the recipient and Clive Churchill)
If you go to any of the major soccer stadiums in England you will see statues of great players and managers of the past. In my opinion it is a very appropriate way to acknowledge Darren Lockyer’s contibution to QLD rugby league.
Maroons need to erect a statue to King Darren
I don’t doubt for one second that RVP has been injured more than he has liked and I don’t think that he would have liked it either. He joined Arsenal in his early 20’s and has spent MOST of his career at Arsenal and for a significant period of the first 7 years at the club he was out injured.
‘What is armageddon?’ I’m going to assume that this was a legitimate question as your posts indicate that you’re probably Dutch and therefore don’t speak English as a first language. When I say that RVP leaving Arsenal isn’t ‘armageddon’ what I basically mean is that it’s not the end of the universe for Arsenal.
Which leads me to the next point.
The point of this article was NEVER to run down RVP. I note in my article that he was the leading goalscorer in the EPL and at no stage do I suggest that I think that he’s not a great player. He was clearly the form striker of the Premier League last season, if not Europe.
The point of this article is to show that Arsenal without RVP won’t see them slide into mid-table mediocrity or even fail to finish in the top 4. Based purely on statistics RVP’s departure doesn’t come close to equaling that of Henry’s. That doesn’t make RVP a bad player (I consider Henry arguably the greatest striker of his generation and I’m not an Arsenal fan) but if Arsenal could survive losing Henry, then they can survive losing RVP.
As for the PSG reference, RVP has been linked with PSG (http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-striker-robin-van-persie-targeted-by-psg-7898902.html) along with a host of other big name players across Europe. Lavezzi from Napoli has joined PSG and just this morning it was revealed that Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva were joining PSG.
When fully fit RVP is absolutely a great player. But, when you factor in his age, the fact that he only has one year left on his contract, his history with injury, the transfer fee being linked with him and the empirical evidence which indicates that when a team loses its star player they don’t go backwards but actually in many cases improve, then his sale is not a disaster for Arsenal.
Why losing van Persie isn't a disaster for Arsenal