Bad news on RVP’s injury could derail our title challenge
Add comment October 22nd, 2007
Arsenal News Review last night ran with a story suggesting that the club fear Robin Van Persie’s knee injury could be more serious that originally assumed:
“On Saturday I heard that the club is worried that van Persie may have damage to his cruciate ligament. If that is the case, he could be out for a long time.”
That would be nothing short of disastrous for our team, and would place an inordinate amount of pressure on players who are not ready to meet those expectation levels.
Van Persie is certainly the best striker this club possesses. He doesn’t have Adebayor’s power, Bendtner’s aerial ability or Eduardo’s nose for goal, but his sheer technique makes him a constant threat. He is able to make space for himself with remarkably quick feet, and finish chances off with an even swifter shot.
Saturday’s game with Bolton showed us that whilst he has looked impressive in his Champions League cameos, Eduardo is still adapting to the Premier League. Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott, meanwhile, suffer from the inconsistencies of youth and irregularity of appearance.
A long-term absence for Van Persie would mean a huge reliance on Adebayor’s finishing, which could spell trouble. The Togolese has been outstanding this season (as he was in my eyes last year), but is hardly Ian Wright-esque in front of goal.
Here’s hoping the news on RVP’s latest scans is positive: an absence of even a couple of months could be enough to send our title challenge askew.
Lassana Diarra has expressed his frustration at a lack of first team opportunities in our jam-packed midfield. He certainly won’t be satisfied with filling in as a right-back:
“I can’t say I hate playing right back, but I prefer to play in midfield. I want to touch the ball and pass to people. Playing right back is just running up and down.”
The problem for Diarra is the form of Mathieu Flamini. I’m sure not even Arsene thought Flamini would force himself so firmly into the side. With Gilberto, Diaby, and Denilson all in the queue too, you feel something may eventually have to give. Will Brazil’s Copa America winning captain want to stay at the club if he’s still a substitute in January? We’ll have to wait and see.
Slavia Prague tomorrow. A win would take us within three points of qualification for the next round of the Champions League.
Which is nice.
