Today Arsenal formally sold Robin Van Persie to Manchester United. The sale means the club have sold four captains in just seven years but here we take a look at how the Arsenal fans can draw some optimism from the departure of their influential now former number 10.
Firstly, there are no two ways about it, Arsenal are going to miss van Persie, any player who scores 37 goals for you in one season, is going to be missed. But the club have to move on and if last season is anything to go by – they will.
A year to the day before a deal was reached for van Persie, the Arsenal sold Cesc Fabregas back to boyhood club Barcelona and if you ask any Gooner, that hurt a lot more than the sale of the Dutchman. A few weeks after the sale of Fabregas, the Gunners sold the only player capable of becoming his immediate replacement, Samir Nasri to Manchester City and whilst this was no surprise, this completed a double-blow to Arsenal who had taken only one point from their first to Premier League games.
What followed was one of the darkest days in the club’s recent history – the 8-2 defeat at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford – a game in which van Persie scored Arsenal’s second goal. This made Arsene Wenger react and he brought in defenders Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos plus midfielder Mikel Arteta and Yossi Banayoun on loan. This kind of transfer activity was unheard of at Arsenal and many fans were pleased with their late flurry. But a late flurry it was and these new signings needed time to settle.
Arsenal recorded their first win of the season against Premier League new-boys Swansea City but this was followed by an away defeat to Blackburn Rovers. The Gunners then thrashed Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates but again, this was followed with a loss to North London rivals Tottenham so Wenger’s side were the meaning of the word inconsistent in the league.
What followed though was some form at last as the Gunners went on an eight game unbeaten run before narrowly losing 1-0 to would Manchester City at the Etihad. During this run, the highlight was a 5-3 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but we won’t mention who scored a hat-trick that day. More mixed form was to follow and although Arsenal enjoyed a 7-1 mauling of Blackburn, avenging their early season defeat to the Lancashire club and a Thierry Henry-winning goal against Sunderland, they would then suffer back-to-back defeats against Sunderland and AC Millan in the FA Cup and Champions League respectively.
Then on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Grove, Arsenal fans were given something to shout about and it couldn’t of come at a better time. Having just waved Henry back to the States, Arsenal were lying ten points behind neighbours Spurs with 13 games to play and found themselves 2-0 down after 34 minutes but by half time, they were level. Wenger’s men went on to thrash their bitter rivals 5-2 in a match which galvanised their season as they went on to overtake Tottenham and finish third.
While this article focuses on Arsenal’s league form of last season, a lot must be said for their Champions League exploits too. After many expected the Gunners to not even qualify for the competition, they secured their place in the last 16 and top-spot in their group with a game to spare before coming just inches away from recording one the competition’s greatest ever comebacks against Italian giants AC Millan.
So Arsenal are once again being written off by most and have it all to do if they are once again going to prove people wrong. Last season, they finished one place higher and two points better off than the previous and that was after a poor start with last-minute signings who needed time to settle. This time around, the likes of Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla have been brought with enough time to find their feet at the Emirates before the new season kicks off. With this in mind and a good start to the 2012-13 campaign, there is absolutely no reason why Arsenal cannot pull together again and prove all their doubters wrong once more.
It’s doubtful that one player alone will achieve Robin van Persie’s total goal tally from last season but between Podolski and Giroud, expect them to come close. In conclusion, Arsenal had to let the player who know longer wanted to be at the club, leave and £24 million for a 29-year-old with only one year left on his contract and one who has had more than his fair share of injuries over the years, is good business.
How do you think Arsenal will fare this season. Take a look at what our pundits think.
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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