Van Persie still haunted by Blackburn loss

Robin van Persie has highlighted Arsenal’s 4-3 loss to Blackburn Rovers in September as one of the most hurtful moments of their season.

The 0-0 draw with Bolton in midweek saw the Gunners slip to seventh in the Premier League, a record low under Arsene Wenger’s stewardship at this time in the season.

A top-four finish is still achievable for Van Persie and his men, and Blackburn at home would usually be seen as a home banker for Wenger’s side but a return of one point from a possible 12 raised doubts over the team’s mettle.

The Dutchman, though, is just eager to right the wrongs of September’s humbling at Ewood Park.

He believes that the result should never have happened and now wants to make the away side pay for the defeat.

“The game against Blackburn is a vital one in which to get our league form back on track. There’s also something we have to put right,” Van Persie told Arsenal.com.

“Our defeat up there in September was something that shouldn’t have happened in a million years.”

“I still speak about it with the boys and in fact was talking with Mikel (Arteta) about it only a couple of weeks ago, because it was one of our most painful losses of the season and it still hurts to think about it.”

“Blackburn are a good side, but we took the lead twice and missed clear chances before scoring two own goals and losing the game. It should never have come to that, and we don’t want to make any such mistakes this time.”

Despite Arsenal’s poor form of late, their FA Cup win over Aston Villa last weekend was only their second win since the turn of the year, Van Persie insists that he drew positives from the performances against both Villa and in midweek.

“If we play as we did in the second half against Villa and the majority of the Bolton game then I’m 100 percent sure that we’ll do a good job and score the goals we need,” he said.

“There’s no point in looking any further than that, or thinking about consequences – we just have to play with our hearts and get the right result in each game from now on.”

Arsenal’s injury worries have been well documented this season with key players such as Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Abou Diaby all missing large chunks of what has been a frustrating season.

Van Persie led his side out at the Reebok Stadium with two key names re-introduced as Bacary Sagna played for the first time in nearly four months and Arteta returned to beef up the midfield numbers.

The 28-year-old believes that the presence of the two helped immeasurably in ensuring at least a point was gained from the trip to the north-west.

“I had a strong feeling during the game that Bolton would not score,” Van Persie said. “Our spine looked firm and that owed a lot to a couple of our returning players.”

“Mikel Arteta made a real difference in terms of our solidity – he keeps the ball well, knows when to tackle and how to kill a counter-attack, showing his experience and demonstrating that he is a massive player for us.”

Van Persie reserved special praise for the returning Sagna though, who impressed on his first competitive start since the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in October, where he broke his leg.

The Gunners captain said: “Bac’s return was a huge boost for us too. I didn’t know he was going to start, but he looked so fit and strong throughout the game.”

“He’s been out for four months but came back in with only a few minutes’ football behind him and played unbelievably – and, I can tell you from my own experience, that’s really difficult to do.”

“He was rock solid at the back and good going forward, so it’s great for all of us. He’s a good friend and an amazing player, and we’re all really happy to see him back.”