On Sunday, Arsenal take on newly-crowned English champions Manchester United at the Emirates and a lot of focus would be on former striker, Robin van Persie who returns to a ground where he was once a hero.
The striker controversially left Arsenal for Manchester United last summer for a fee believed to be in the reign of 24 million pounds and his departure has changed things significantly for both the sides.
A hostile reception awaits the Dutchman for his first return to a club where he became one of the most lethal strikers in England.
Last season, it was the Dutchman who confidently took the goal scoring burden on his shoulders and scored a career high of 37 goals in 48 games. Unluckily though, his exploits were not enough to guide the club to any form of silverware.
This season, the striker has scored 28 goals in 44 games. And although his goal scoring record is not as good as his last season at Arsenal , this season will surely go down as the best campaigns the Dutchman has had so far, the reason being that his efforts were very instrumental in earning Man United their 20th league title.
Last season, van Persie single handedly guided Arsenal to Champions League football in what was the Dutchman’s most prolific season to date.
This season the star striker has played a huge part in helping the Red Devils reclaim a title which they lost on the last day of last season which just goes on to show how much a difference one player can make to a club’s fortunes.
It has not been the same for Wenger’s side since RVP left the club. Since the beginning of the season, The Gunners have struggled to end their eight-year long wait for a trophy and have made quite a meal of their Champions League qualification.
Robin Van Persie’s departure saw Arsenal secure the services of Olivier Giroud from Montpellier. The Frenchman was the top goal scorer in Ligue 1 last season and has done reasonably well in his first season in England.
17 goals and 13 assists in all competitions simply show that the Frenchman has done a very good job and should make Wenger hope of even better performances next season. However it is quite safe to say that Giroud is nowhere near the level of Van Persie and cannot change games the way the former Arsenal man used to.
Lukas Podolski on the other hand, has never been able to build on the Young Player of the Tournament award which he won back in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The former Cologne man shares a similar profile to Persie in that he has a great left foot, is a good finisher and has good set-piece taking abilities. However, Wenger, for reasons only he knows, has preferred to deploy the player on the left rather than as a centre forward. Change of tactics for the German could reap better results from next season.
Theo Walcott was perhaps Arsenal’s biggest star at the start of the campaign. The winger who loves to play as a striker was scoring goals for fun but has faded away since the turn of the New Year. Or maybe, signing a new contract has put him to ease.
Gervinho has been given a lot of chances in middle but the Ivorian has not been able to replicate the form that made him a huge star in Ligue 1 during his time at Lille, with inconsistency his biggest trait in England.
Arsenal have clearly suffered from not having an influential frontman this season and one can only shudder to think of how different Arsenal’s season could have been had Wenger somehow convinced Van Persie to stay at the club for at least one more season.
It is definitely not easy to replace a player of his calibre and if they manage to sign a player who is anywhere near the Dutchman’s potential, Arsenal could be a force to reckon with next season.
Although the new signings have not done bad, it is quite clear that Wenger needs to delve in the upcoming summer transfer window in order to sign a striker who could score goals regularly for the side.
Reports claim that the Londoners are still interested in bringing David Villa from Barcelona. Though the Spaniard has not been in great shape since coming back from injury, a change in atmosphere might do the trick. Moreover, the former Valencia man will easily integrate in the Arsenal way of football.
After Mario Gotze reportedly refused a move to Arsenal in favour of Bayern Munich, it is high time for the club to start becoming active in the transfer market and buy players who guarantee success.
Santi Cazorla is an example of a player Wenger has bought who can easily change the course of the game and Arsenal should make efforts to bring in a striker of similar stature if they are to achieve greater things in the near future.
A hostile reception awaits the Dutchman for his first return to a club where he became one of the most lethal strikers in England.
Last season, it was the Dutchman who confidently took the goal scoring burden on his shoulders and scored a career high of 37 goals in 48 games. Unluckily though, his exploits were not enough to guide the club to any form of silverware.
This season, the striker has scored 28 goals in 44 games. And although his goal scoring record is not as good as his last season at Arsenal , this season will surely go down as the best campaigns the Dutchman has had so far, the reason being that his efforts were very instrumental in earning Man United their 20th league title.
Last season, van Persie single handedly guided Arsenal to Champions League football in what was the Dutchman’s most prolific season to date.
This season the star striker has played a huge part in helping the Red Devils reclaim a title which they lost on the last day of last season which just goes on to show how much a difference one player can make to a club’s fortunes.
It has not been the same for Wenger’s side since RVP left the club. Since the beginning of the season, The Gunners have struggled to end their eight-year long wait for a trophy and have made quite a meal of their Champions League qualification.
Robin Van Persie’s departure saw Arsenal secure the services of Olivier Giroud from Montpellier. The Frenchman was the top goal scorer in Ligue 1 last season and has done reasonably well in his first season in England.
17 goals and 13 assists in all competitions simply show that the Frenchman has done a very good job and should make Wenger hope of even better performances next season. However it is quite safe to say that Giroud is nowhere near the level of Van Persie and cannot change games the way the former Arsenal man used to.
Lukas Podolski on the other hand, has never been able to build on the Young Player of the Tournament award which he won back in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The former Cologne man shares a similar profile to Persie in that he has a great left foot, is a good finisher and has good set-piece taking abilities. However, Wenger, for reasons only he knows, has preferred to deploy the player on the left rather than as a centre forward. Change of tactics for the German could reap better results from next season.
Theo Walcott was perhaps Arsenal’s biggest star at the start of the campaign. The winger who loves to play as a striker was scoring goals for fun but has faded away since the turn of the New Year. Or maybe, signing a new contract has put him to ease.
Gervinho has been given a lot of chances in middle but the Ivorian has not been able to replicate the form that made him a huge star in Ligue 1 during his time at Lille, with inconsistency his biggest trait in England.
Arsenal have clearly suffered from not having an influential frontman this season and one can only shudder to think of how different Arsenal’s season could have been had Wenger somehow convinced Van Persie to stay at the club for at least one more season.
It is definitely not easy to replace a player of his calibre and if they manage to sign a player who is anywhere near the Dutchman’s potential, Arsenal could be a force to reckon with next season.
Although the new signings have not done bad, it is quite clear that Wenger needs to delve in the upcoming summer transfer window in order to sign a striker who could score goals regularly for the side.
Reports claim that the Londoners are still interested in bringing David Villa from Barcelona. Though the Spaniard has not been in great shape since coming back from injury, a change in atmosphere might do the trick. Moreover, the former Valencia man will easily integrate in the Arsenal way of football.
After Mario Gotze reportedly refused a move to Arsenal in favour of Bayern Munich, it is high time for the club to start becoming active in the transfer market and buy players who guarantee success.
Santi Cazorla is an example of a player Wenger has bought who can easily change the course of the game and Arsenal should make efforts to bring in a striker of similar stature if they are to achieve greater things in the near future.
