Robin Van Persie established himself as the best striker in the Premier League on current form with a simply magnificent display at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
The craft, guile and finishing ability of Van Persie were too much for Chelsea to handle as the Dutch striker guided Arsenal to an incredible 5-3 win over third placed Chelsea.
The title of the Premier League’s best striker has been incredibly fluent in the past few seasons. Gone are the days when Alan Shearer or Thierry Henry would blaze a trail and be the standard for others to measure themselves season after season.
In today’s Premier League, it seems one season at the top can be followed by a swift downturn in form.
Fernando Torres had some incredible runs of form during his early years at Liverpool, but never did manage to win a Golden Boot title as the league’s leading goal scorer.
Of the players who have won the Golden Boot award in the last four seasons, none have been able to establish a dominant run over a number of seasons, and as a result fan opinion of who is the best striker in the league has been split for years.
In fact, it could be argued that a ‘Curse of the Golden Boot’ situation exists, and Gunners fans will be hoping Van Persie does not follow this trend.
Nicolas Anelka won the 2008/2009 Golden Boot when he scored 19 Premier League goals for Chelsea. The surly Frenchman has failed to reach that total in the three seasons since he won the award.
In the 2009/2010 season Didier Drogba scored a staggering 29 goals in 32 games as Chelsea won the Premier League title. The Ivory Coast international has failed to replicate those feats however, scoring only 12 goals in the two seasons since.
The most spectacular fall from grace however could be unraveling in front of our eyes this season. In the 2010/2011 term Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez combined for 40 Premier League goals and shared the Golden Boot trophy.
This season, you have to wonder whether the struggling pair will manage to score a Premier League goal between them.
Berbatov has been relegated to very much a reserve role at Old Trafford. Wayne Rooney and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez are the top-level strikers at the club, and even young English striker has jumped ahead of Berbatov in the United pecking order.
Tevez finds himself in an even worse situation at the other end of Manchester. The Argentine goal machine was so impressive last season that many of City’s critics labeled them a “one man team.” The common belief was that Tevez was the only attacking threat on an otherwise dour and defensive team, and if he was stopped, City would be stifled.
This season, that could not be further from the truth. Tevez was originally playing a reserve role, but his ego cold not handle that and in a Champions League game at Bayern Munich he defied Roberto Mancini and refused to come off the bench.
Ever since Tevez has been exiled and City have played better without him than they ever did with him as he stays at home and polishes his Golden Boot trophy. The emergence of Sergio Aguero means Tevez is no longer even the best Argentine at Eastlands, and he has likely played his last game for the club.
Now it is Van Persie who has ascended to the top of the Premier League goal scoring ranks, and he has made himself a big favorite to win this season’s top goal scoring honor.
Van Persie now not only tops the current scoring charts with 10 Premier League goals, he is on a simply magnificent run of 28 goals in his last 27 Premier League games.
Arsene Wenger was full of praise for Van Persie after the win at Stamford Bridge. “Robin is on fire at the moment and his class means he is taking advantage of being in a team that wants to attack a lot and create chances,” Wenger told BBC Sport. “The intelligence of his movement and the accuracy of his finishing is exceptional.”
While Wenger and Arsenal fans will be rooting for Van Persie to continue his current form and finish as the Premier Leagues leading goal scorer, they will also be hoping his fortunes do not follow the trend of Golden Boot winners in the recent past.
The title of the Premier League’s best striker has been incredibly fluent in the past few seasons. Gone are the days when Alan Shearer or Thierry Henry would blaze a trail and be the standard for others to measure themselves season after season.
In today’s Premier League, it seems one season at the top can be followed by a swift downturn in form.
Fernando Torres had some incredible runs of form during his early years at Liverpool, but never did manage to win a Golden Boot title as the league’s leading goal scorer.
Of the players who have won the Golden Boot award in the last four seasons, none have been able to establish a dominant run over a number of seasons, and as a result fan opinion of who is the best striker in the league has been split for years.
In fact, it could be argued that a ‘Curse of the Golden Boot’ situation exists, and Gunners fans will be hoping Van Persie does not follow this trend.
Nicolas Anelka won the 2008/2009 Golden Boot when he scored 19 Premier League goals for Chelsea. The surly Frenchman has failed to reach that total in the three seasons since he won the award.
In the 2009/2010 season Didier Drogba scored a staggering 29 goals in 32 games as Chelsea won the Premier League title. The Ivory Coast international has failed to replicate those feats however, scoring only 12 goals in the two seasons since.
The most spectacular fall from grace however could be unraveling in front of our eyes this season. In the 2010/2011 term Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez combined for 40 Premier League goals and shared the Golden Boot trophy.
This season, you have to wonder whether the struggling pair will manage to score a Premier League goal between them.
Berbatov has been relegated to very much a reserve role at Old Trafford. Wayne Rooney and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez are the top-level strikers at the club, and even young English striker has jumped ahead of Berbatov in the United pecking order.
Tevez finds himself in an even worse situation at the other end of Manchester. The Argentine goal machine was so impressive last season that many of City’s critics labeled them a “one man team.” The common belief was that Tevez was the only attacking threat on an otherwise dour and defensive team, and if he was stopped, City would be stifled.
This season, that could not be further from the truth. Tevez was originally playing a reserve role, but his ego cold not handle that and in a Champions League game at Bayern Munich he defied Roberto Mancini and refused to come off the bench.
Ever since Tevez has been exiled and City have played better without him than they ever did with him as he stays at home and polishes his Golden Boot trophy. The emergence of Sergio Aguero means Tevez is no longer even the best Argentine at Eastlands, and he has likely played his last game for the club.
Now it is Van Persie who has ascended to the top of the Premier League goal scoring ranks, and he has made himself a big favorite to win this season’s top goal scoring honor.
Van Persie now not only tops the current scoring charts with 10 Premier League goals, he is on a simply magnificent run of 28 goals in his last 27 Premier League games.
Arsene Wenger was full of praise for Van Persie after the win at Stamford Bridge. “Robin is on fire at the moment and his class means he is taking advantage of being in a team that wants to attack a lot and create chances,” Wenger told BBC Sport. “The intelligence of his movement and the accuracy of his finishing is exceptional.”
While Wenger and Arsenal fans will be rooting for Van Persie to continue his current form and finish as the Premier Leagues leading goal scorer, they will also be hoping his fortunes do not follow the trend of Golden Boot winners in the recent past.
