Arsenal’s resurgence in recent months has coincided with an extraordinary goalscoring run from Dutch striker Robin Van Persie.
The striker has scored 31 goals in his last 34 appearances for the Gunners. That really is an incredible statistic.
Form
This good form dates back to last season. A key factor in his form is the fact that he has stayed injury free for the year.
In previous years he has been plagued bi injuries which stopped him hitting the heights he has done this year.
Denial
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger denied that the Gunners are a one man team though. The Frenchman told press: “Robin is top, top, top in the world at the moment. Hopefully we can keep him going. He’s in a period where he shows it is natural for him to score goals. When you are not desperate for goals you score.
“We are reliant on Robin, of course, because he scores many goals. That is always a problem you have when someone is playing extremely well.
“However, I believe that players like Gervinho, [Theo] Walcott, [Andrey] Arshavin and [Aaron] Ramsey will score goals as well. But at the moment they are more in the providing zone. I am confident that in the near future some others will score goals as well.”
Arsenal are definitely reliant on their Robin. He’s the man that puts the ball in the back of the net. The other players that Wenger mentioned have struggled to scored goals and you wonder what would happen if Van Persie got injured.
The few games that he has been rested this season or has not played Arsenal have looked flat and looked like they wasn’t capable of scoring.
Team
Football is a team game of course but every team has a player who is pivotal to their performance. You take a star player out of any team and the team instantly becomes weaker. Van Persie is the star player in the Arsenal team and there is no doubt about it.
It’s like taking Messi out of the Barcelona side or Cristiano Ronaldo out of the Real Madrid side. The club may have quality replacements for the pair but the team is still going to be weaker, because those players are irreplaceable.
Most of the goals that Van Persie scores are good team goals, lots of good passing in the way that we have become accustomed to seeing Arsenal play. The likes of Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Gervinho and Theo Walcott are key to the Dutchman scoring so many goals.
Gervinho had a decent goalscoring record in France with Champions Lille before moving to the Emirates. The Ivory Coast forward had scored 28 Ligue One goals in 67 appearances. He hasn’t found his goalscoring feet yet in the Premier League though.
Theo Walcott should score more goals than he does but has yet to perfect the art of finishing. Hopefully as the England winger matures he will find a greater composure in front of goal. Maybe by watching the way Van Persie finishes chances. At the moment though the former-Southampton ace seems to snatch at chances.
Two-sides
There are two sides to this argument that both have their valid merits. First the argument for Arsenal being a one-man team is that without Van Persie Arsenal would probably still be struggling this season. He the clubs top scorer and also the teams talisman.
However on the other side without the efforts of his teammates he wouldn’t score the same number of goals. If he was in a team with poorer players I don’t think he would get the same amount of goals.
Van Persie is not the sort of player that will beat five players and score a spectacular goal. The Dutchman is technically gifted but he is the type of player that is reliant on good service to score his goals.
Arsenal are definitely a better team when Van Persie is playing and score more goals. Whether the Gunners are a one-man team, I’ll let you decide that one.
Are Arsenal a one-man team?
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