With Thierry Henry leaving Arsenal for Barcelona in the summer, it was down to van Persie to take greater goalscoring responsibility in the 2007/08 campaign. He had been near fitness at the end of the previous season but Wenger had decided that it was not worth risking further injury with Arsenal having nothing left to play for in what had been a disappointing season for the club.
Van Persie was in amongst the goals in pre-season and ready to lead the line for an Arsenal side that had once again been shorn of one of its big-name players in post-season. In another quiet comeback game, he slid in at the far post to score against Genclerbirligi, an extremely similar effort to the one he hit against United in the game that injury happened in. This time he had not broken anything when scoring the goal and it was time to crack on with the new season. He told the Evening Standard: ‘For me it is like, “Okay, I scored that goal against United and I scored a similar goal now.” So that is it. This period has gone. It is time to get it on and start again. It is in the past, it is history.’
Wenger had protected van Persie from meeting old foes Ajax in the past but this pre-season he decided not to wrap his lead marksman in cotton wool. The Dutch side decided it would be appropriate to kick the former Feyenoord man around the park in this ‘friendly’ but it looked like van Persie had got the last laugh when he prodded home the winner with minutes to go.
Perhaps in hindsight this had not been the wisest of times and places to score a goal and within seconds he had been flattened by John Heitinga. Wenger would have been ruing his decision to play van Persie had he been seriously injured. He retained a stiff upper lip after the game and reasoned that his side had faced similar tactics from the likes of Sheffield United and Doncaster Rovers before, saying: ‘The idea that you have to kick Arsenal is well known in England and it has obviously travelled over the border. It doesn’t worry me that teams might try to kick us because the best response is to win.’
Clearly the streets of Amsterdam were never going to be a safe place for van Persie to roam but he had shown that he would not be stopped and would not be riled and had been rewarded with the winning goal. Emerging from that game with a goal and without having been provoked into a red card was a real triumph for van Persie.
Ahead of the season Arsenal were labelled good but not quite experienced enough by a lot of pundits including former Spurs and England man Les Ferdinand. The legendary striker did tell The Guardian he thought van Persie was ‘decent’ which, coming from a former Tottenham player, was praise indeed.
Arsène Wenger was starting to run out of strikers so it was important that the ones he did have at his disposal were able to play together. He said van Persie had the potential to link up well with Adebayor, who contrasted with the Dutchman well because whilst he provided a little less skill, the Togo man was a powerhouse who would bully defences and give the front line a little more bite. Wenger said: ‘I think he is developing very, very well. He has become more mature and he benefits from the good work of Emmanuel Adebayor, who makes room for him. The two always combine well together.’
Giovanni van Bronckhorst had done the opposite to van Persie and moved from Arsenal to Feyenoord in the summer. After leaving he said van Persie had made immeasurable progress since first breaking onto the scene and he believed the man was ready to step up and become an even more important player for club and country. He told The Guardian: ‘If you compare him now from the boy who made his debut for the Dutch team – I remember him as a wiry, self-confident kid – his development has been tremendous. He’s more consistent now and stronger. He’s ready to take over a role as a leader in the team, both at Arsenal and with Holland, and Dutch fans recognise him as a star player for the future of the national team.’
As had been expected, van Persie started the season as the focal point of the Arsenal attack and things started well as he netted a penalty in a 2-1 win over Fulham. He could have had a couple more but that old foe – the woodwork – denied him further goals. It was hardly a vintage performance but at least this season had actually started with a win. Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez had accused van Persie of taking a dive during the game but later apologised after having seen the incident again on television.
Van Persie was on similar white-hot form in a 2-0 Champions League qualifying victory at Sparta Prague. He was incredibly unfortunate not to get on the score sheet after twice being denied by goalkeeper Tomas Postulka. First the stopper beat his free-kick away from danger before diving brilliantly to tip a low drive around the post after van Persie had tricked his way into the box with a smart dummy.
He was also booked in that game after giving as good as he got from the pushy Czechoslovakians. Wenger was thrilled to see his side standing up for themselves and told the Evening Standard: ‘You have got a team like this, and maybe they think this is the way to play against Arsenal. However, we have to show we are not the same team as before and are ready for the challenge.’
Van Persie scored his second goal in as many league games in the bad-tempered 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers. The goal showed how far van Persie had come in developing his game as it was a real striker’s finish to take advantage of a defensive mix-up and prod home the ball as it bounced around the penalty area.
The commentary team on Match of the Day were very excited by van Persie’s solo effort: ‘You’d have to travel a long, long way to see a better goal than that. Absolutely stunning. The surge of pace, the close control, the balance, the finish. Bergkamp may be in the twilight of his career but there’s another Dutchman very much in the springtime of his.’
Wenger claimed Blackburn had a ‘desire for violence’ but Blackburn manager Mark Hughes angrily responded that it had been van Persie who had committed the worst foul of the game. He did however have the grace to admit that van Persie had tormented Blackburn for a number of seasons and was destined to become the club’s main man. He told the Sunday Express: ‘Van Persie has been a thorn in our side in recent years, he is an outstanding talent and maybe it’s time for him to step up to the mark and be the main man.’
One of the things a main man should do is be able to step up, take a penalty and score. Van Persie let his team down at Manchester City when his spot kick was too close to goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and the Dane knocked away with his feet. Schmeichel’s father, the Manchester United legend Peter, had saved a spot kick from Dennis Bergkamp in 1999 and Wenger quipped that he hoped he wouldn’t have to come up against Peter’s grandson in a few years’ time. Cesc Fabregas spared van Persie’s blushes when he scored the winner but this was still highly embarrassing for the Dutchman.
Adebayor came out in his teammate’s defence and said everybody knew van Persie was still a top-class player. He rejected any suggestions somebody else should be given penalty-kick duties and said the team had every confidence in the Dutchman. He pleaded to be given time to forge a partnership with van Persie, with whom he already enjoyed a good relationship away from the field.
Arsenal had been kicked around the pitch by Ajax and Blackburn already this season and van Persie was still seething about that rough treatment after the Manchester City game. He told The Sunday Times that this kind of tactic had nothing to do with football; it was all about teams stopping Arsenal from playing their game properly. Pundits on Match of the Day had mocked Wenger for complaining his players were being targeted and van Persie was not amused. He said: ‘I think the boss has the right to tell the cameras about it, to say something to the people back home. It’s not honest to say, “Arsenal are always moaning.”’
Loudmouthed Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage later hit back when he called van Persie a hypocrite and claimed Arsenal gave as good as they got. He said that because Arsenal were a big London club, people would only write positive things about them.
They were presenting a more aggressive front since the Blackburn game and van Persie made his presence felt during the 3-0 second-leg stroll to victory over Sparta Prague. Van Persie was having none of the nonsense Tomas Repka had tried in the away game and hauled the former West Ham bully to the ground by his neck in a feisty opening.
A few days later it was van Persie’s time to hit the deck as Portsmouth goalkeeper David James sent him sprawling. Despite Adebayor’s support for the Dutchman after that penalty was saved in Manchester, it was the Togo man who stood up to rifle home the penalty in a 3-1 win. Arsenal were going well but van Persie was not as involved as he would have liked as they beat Spurs at White Hart Lane to go top of the Premier League.
A second-half strike in a 3-0 Champions League win over Sevilla proved the perfect medicine and van Persie purred that Arsenal were playing ‘football from a different world’ after the game. Van Persie’s goal came after Bacary Sagna flicked on to the far post and van Persie smashed the ball home from close range.
Van Persie was thrilled with the spirit showed by the squad in the win after they had looked a bit off the boil at the end of last season. He told the Evening Standard it was all down to Arsène Wenger insisting the team could achieve so much more if they worked as a unit: ‘He brought this learning to everyone. I know everyone is thinking the Arsenal way and that can make a big difference. Not many teams play the way we play.’ The Gunners had won seven of their first eight games of the season so it was little wonder van Persie was so pleased with the way things were going.
Wenger said his side had played through the ‘pain barrier’ of matches like the Blackburn one and were now reaping the rewards of their new steely resolve.
As September drew to an end, van Persie netted his fourth of the season at West Ham to open up a three-point lead to the top of the table. A perfect Alexander Hleb cross was nodded goalwards by van Persie and although Robert Green got a hand to it, the effort had too much power behind it and ended up in the back of the net via a post. It was rare for him to score a header but it was clear van Persie was doing all he could to lead the Gunners’ title charge.
The Premier League seemed to have a bit more bite to it than in previous years and nothing will have said ‘welcome to Upton Park’ quite like Lee Bowyer’s harsh early hack at van Persie. The Arsenal players had probably packed their helmets but there were no coins thrown from the stands this time around. Wenger was again critical of the rough treatment his players had been given but surely by going on these rants he was only giving out signals that rough tactics did affect his players.
Back in European action, van Persie scored the only goal as Arsenal secured their ninth straight win with a 1-0 success at Steaua Bucharest. He was in the right place at the right time to slot home from an Adebayor cutback. He said Arsenal were playing a special and unique brand of football and praised Arsène Wenger for not rotating the squad too much, as certain other Premier League bosses had a habit of doing.
Van Persie was in a rich vein of form and scored an impressive brace in a nail-biting 3-2 win over Sunderland. He rocketed yet another unstoppable free-kick past Craig Gordon and remained a threat for the rest of the afternoon before smacking home from close range at the death to seal the win.
That great run had to come to an end sooner or later and once again van Persie picked up a knock, this time whilst on international duty. He had set up a goal in a 2-0 qualifying victory over Slovenia but van Persie later took a knock to his knee and faced a month on the sidelines. Wenger was understandably upset at losing the striker to injury once again and told Arsenal TV: ‘It is a big blow. Robin is a striker, a supportive striker and important on set-pieces as well. I hope he will be back soon and we’ll do the maximum to get him back.’
It was a longer setback than expected and he did not make a comeback until the New Year after suffering muscular injuries alongside the existing knee problem.
He made a surprise comeback as Arsenal drew 1-1 with Tottenham in the League Cup semi-final but had to be withdrawn at half-time as something was clearly not right, with the Dutchman well off the pace. He did not feature again until coming off the bench in a 0-0 draw at Wigan Athletic, with Arsenal having maintained their position at the top of the Premier League in his absence. Lacking a bit of match sharpness, van Persie wastefully blasted a free-kick well over the bar where he might usually have worried the goalkeeper.
Finally he was ready to start as Middlesbrough visited the Emirates in mid-March. He fired an early warning shot with an effort that went just wide in the first five minutes but again offered little else and was withdrawn on the hour mark. This was an incredibly frustrating period after all the hype about his biggest Arsenal season and he had once again gone missing midway through that period. How was Arsène Wenger supposed to be able to count on him to be Arsenal’s top striker if he only played in about half of the team’s games?
He told Arsenal TV that he had started the season with some very big ideas and ambition and that had not been messed up by this latest setback. The injuries had not beaten van Persie and he vowed to end the season strongly with Arsenal after he felt the side were a little unlucky not to be top of the table.
Van Persie was determined his side would pick up a trophy at the end of the season to make sure all their hard work had not been for nothing. It had been a frustrating injury-plagued period for him but, unlike last season, Arsenal were still very much in with a shot at the Premier League title, as well as having a Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool to look forward to.
He told the Daily Star he believed the team had the ability to take the Double of Premier League and Champions League and that now was their moment. He said: ‘We have something here. We can win the Double but belief is 50 per cent of it. I still think we can do it, and hopefully I can play a part in it. I’m not a daydreamer, I really think we can win the title and the Champions League this season. Why not? We have the quality and the belief which can take you very far.’
Arsenal’s title chances took a huge blow as they went down to two late Didier Drogba goals at Stamford Bridge. Carlo Cudicini had been inspired in the Chelsea goal and made two tremendous saves to keep van Persie from scoring. They bounced back from this defeat – and going 2-0 down at Bolton – with three second-half goals at the Reebok. Van Persie had been a threat with several long-distance attempts going close and he hit his first goal in nearly six months when he rammed home a penalty.
Arsenal faced a triple header against Liverpool as the sides’ league meeting was sandwiched in between both legs of that quarter-final.
Before the game Dirk Kuyt told the Liverpool Daily Echo his international teammate would be the man to watch in the meetings, saying: ‘Van Persie is a very good player. For me, he is the best Dutch player around at the moment, so we will have to be careful with him. He scored a good goal at the weekend so he will be feeling confident and keen to do well after being out injured for so long.’
As the sides drew the first leg of the Champions League game 1-1 at the Emirates, van Persie could only manage 45 minutes as he again left the field early with a recurrence of that thigh problem. That forced him out of the league game, which ended with the same score line, before he could only come on as an ineffective substitute in the 4-2 second leg exit at Anfield.
Arsenal would now have to concentrate on the Premier League and there was no time to rest as they travelled to Old Trafford just five days later in what was sure to be the title decider. Van Persie got the evening off to a flier when he crossed for Adebayor to bundle home the opening goal. It was a cheeky contribution from the Dutchman after he had taken a short free-kick and skipped round the side of the United defence before setting up the opener in sensational style. Cristiano Ronaldo and Owen Hargreaves both hit back as United ran out 2-1 winners and effectively ended Arsenal’s title push.
Arsenal won their last four games but it was too little too late as Manchester United won the league, with Chelsea two points behind and the Gunners in third. If they had won at Old Trafford, Wenger’s men would have won the league.
The manager knew van Persie could have amounted to so much more if only he had remained free of injury. Arsenal had failed to win a trophy for the third season running but Wenger was confident van Persie would return from Euro 2008 to be a driving force for Arsenal. He said: ‘Robin is unfortunate with injuries at the moment but in my opinion it is nothing more than that. He has so much talent so I am very keen to keep him, I trust him and I hope that he will get rid of his injuries. For me, Robin van Persie is a world-class footballer and you always hope that next season Robin will have an injury-free season.’
The football year had ended in disappointment once again for van Persie but he dusted himself down and was desperate to do well for the Netherlands at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. It was going to be tough as he had not had a decent run in the Arsenal team since the tail end of the previous year and van Persie admitted before the tournament started that if he was able to play in the forthcoming event, he would certainly not be firing on all cylinders.
Coach Marco van Basten put his crocked star on a special preparation programme as he trained separately from the rest of the squad, working with a physiotherapist to avoid further aggravating the niggles he was recovering from.
The coach was being extremely accommodating to van Persie; maybe van Basten saw a little of himself in the Arsenal man because he suffered from his own injury problems throughout his playing career. Van Persie admitted it was very draining as he tried his best to come back from the problems in time for the first game. He said: ‘It is both tiring physically as well as psychologically because each time I thought I was getting back to being fully fit, I had a reverse. The coach has confidence in me, which is very pleasing and reassuring.’
Van Basten said he did not mind if van Persie missed the first match because he was a special player and worth the patience that was being shown in him. And how did van Persie repay van Basten saying he was such a good player and making an exception to many rules to allow him a shot of making the opening game?
The striker decided it would be a good idea to fall out with Wesley Sneijder and go into a reckless tackle on his teammate. The pair had apparently fallen out and had not been on speaking terms for a while but for things to erupt in the way they did would not have done the nation any favours ahead of their opening game. It looked like another rift would tear apart the side – reminiscent of the 1996 European Championship tournament when battling midfielder Edgar Davids was sent home after an argument.
After a precautionary visit to hospital it emerged that Real Madrid man Sneijder would be fit to play in the mouthwatering opening game against Italy but that van Persie would not.
The Netherlands produced a stunning 3-0 win to shock the reigning world champions, with van Persie making a cheeky 20-minute appearance after being brought on from the bench. It was a wonderful performance full of pace and attacking intent which reminded van Persie of the way his Arsenal side had gone about their business that season. He said: ‘We want to show you can win a big title playing great football – it’s what we believe in. We played some wonderful football against the world champions.’
For all the glory, there were still signs that all was not well in the Dutch camp as an angry Sneijder barked orders at his teammates for the entirety of the game and most of them chose to ignore him for the 90 minutes.
The Dutch did even better in their next match as they beat World Cup 2006 Finalists France 4-1 in Bern. Both van Persie and his rival Sneijder hit the back of the net after van Persie was once again brought on from the bench. Van Persie had only been on the field for four minutes when Arjen Robben sent an inviting ball across the face of the goal and van Persie motored in at the back stick to sweep home.
Marco van Basten said it was brilliant to have van Persie available to come on during the game and pose a real threat. ‘We needed more players to stretch France and in bringing on Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben for the second half, we had more chances to go deep and that helped us and gave us more space,’ he said. ‘With these players, it is difficult for our opponents. They are quick and technical so we were much more dangerous in the second half.’
The Dutch had already qualified from the tournament’s ‘group of death’ with a match to spare but there was to be no let-up in that final game against Romania. Van Persie was poised for his first start of the finals and was determined it would be another victory for his team. He joked that he did not even like to lose a game of table tennis in his house, let alone a match at a major international tournament, so Romania must have known they were in for a rough ride.
Van Persie hit goal number two of the tournament as a second-string Dutch side strolled to a 2-0 win. As the game drew to a close he showed great focus to chest down a pass, make progress towards the goal and wallop a left-footed volley into the back of the net. The assembled Orange army went ballistic after seeing their heroes take maximum points from three hugely impressive displays.
After that win van Persie insisted that it had not been a Netherlands ‘B’ team because the whole squad formed one such formation and all 23 players were equals. He added: ‘With this squad I really have the feeling that we are unbeatable, though we have to take it step by step. That is why I just want to be part of the team as it feels like something beautiful is happening.’
Van Basten said the players had done well in all three games despite a range of personnel being used. Suddenly the Dutch were touted as one of the favourites to win the tournament and their record from the group stage spoke for itself: played three, won three, scored nine, conceded one.
Van Persie had come so far in a matter of days as it had looked like he would play little to no part in the tournament whatsoever and then he scored two and put in a Man of the Match performance against Romania.
When the Netherlands came up against un-fancied Russia in the quarter-finals, supporters must have presumed their side would stroll their way through to the semis. Guus Hiddink had other ideas and the Russians’ Dutch coach watched his side lead for a long period through Roman Pavlyuchenko’s goal just after the break. It was a big shock and only a last minute Ruud van Nistelrooy effort kept the Dutch in the tournament.
Things went from bad to worse in extra time however as the Russians hit two more goals without reply to power through to the semi-finals. The Dutch were shell-shocked to be out after such a rampant display in the group stages. Van Persie had warned at the start of the season that to be the best you needed to be able to deliver to a consistent level and his Dutch team had been unable to do that after having an off day at exactly the wrong time.
Marco van Basten said he did not understand how the side had played so badly after most of the team had been given the best part of a week to rest. The introduction of van Persie was unable to change things and the Dutch were out. Van Basten said: ‘In the second half we brought Robin van Persie in for a bit more depth, but the Russians played very well. In the group stage we played good football, but we didn’t play to such a high level as on Saturday.’
It was incomprehensible that this would happen after the Dutch had played so well in their first three games. Some supporters wondered if it had been wise for them to go all-out in that final game which had nothing riding on it. Perhaps it was a case of ‘too much too soon’ for the Dutch and they should have saved some of their best play for later on in the tournament instead of burning themselves out at an early stage.
Arsenal had slowly been losing members of their squad as players like Mathieu Flamini were leaving on free transfers after the Gunners would not meet their wage demands. Van Persie, who was in the initial stages of discussing a new deal for himself, said the side needed to be more flexible with wages offered if they wanted to attract top players to the Emirates and keep them there.
He said: ‘Arsenal have a policy in which they will not go over a specific amount of money when agreeing the salary of a player. I think they should go to a higher level of salary. If you are 27 or 28 I can understand that you would make the decision to go elsewhere if you can earn three or four times as much.’
A couple of months after that disappointing European Championships exit, van Persie was back in an Arsenal shirt and looking every bit the improved player that Wenger had prophesised he would return as. The 2008-09 season kicked off in the right way with van Persie setting up the opener in a 2-0 Champions League qualifying match against FC Twente. He might not have scored yet but his link-up play in the emphatic 4-0 second-leg win showed great promise for the coming season. Van Persie had insisted that the Gunners ‘needed’ Champions League football and he had helped them secure a spot in the competition’s group stages.
He was off and rolling for the season with a smart double against Newcastle at the Emirates. Van Persie shouldered penalty-taking responsibilities when Charles N’Zogbia handled and perfectly hit his shot low and hard into the side netting to leave Shay Given no chance of making a save. The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper then worked wonders to keep out van Persie’s free-kick before an Emmanuel Eboué backheel was prodded into the net by the Dutchman from close range. Van Persie was held in high esteem by the Arsenal faithful but the same could not be said for Emmanuel Adebayor, who had expressed interest in a move away from the club. When the Togo man came on in place of van Persie, there was a chorus of boos from the home crowd.
Van Persie would have relished making the trip to Ewood Park as he had always posed real problems for Blackburn in the past. Mark Hughes would have been having nightmares about van Persie but his side were not able to stop him from once again proving the thorn in Rovers’ side. Van Persie beautifully allowed a Theo Walcott pass to roll across the front of his body before prodding past Paul Robinson. Van Persie later wastefully fired into the side netting before Adebayor excelled himself and hit a hat-trick.
Van Persie and Adebayor proved double trouble for Porto as both men netted braces in a 4-0 win in the opening Champions League group stage match. He had been somewhat patchy in the league but van Persie really found his stride against the Portuguese side. He opened the scoring after rushing to beat his man to the ball and sliding home from Adebayor’s pass. He nutmegged poor Bruno Alves before slotting into the corner for his second goal of the evening. Wenger later said he had expected nothing less from the evening and that his side was showing big potential.
Another header in the home win against Everton set Arsenal on their way to a 3-1 win to get back to winning ways after a far from perfect start to the season. Van Persie played his part in a scintillating North London derby when his 50th Arsenal goal looked to have finished off Spurs as Arsenal went 4-2 ahead. When van Persie began to tire and was replaced with 10 minutes left, the game was as good as won but somehow Spurs charged back and hit two goals to level the game. Arsène Wenger was fuming after the match that all Arsenal’s hard work had been thrown away. There was nothing van Persie could do but watch from the bench as the side surrendered the lead.
It looked like van Persie had banished those old disciplinary problems to the past but in a controversial defeat at Stoke City, he received a red card just 10 minutes after coming off the bench. It was a by-product of Stoke time-wasting after they had just gone 2-0 ahead. Andy Griffin had headed back to Thomas Sorensen and the Denmark goalkeeper took his time in collecting the ball. Van Persie was in something of a rush and in no mood to allow the Potters players to run the clock down. As Sorensen bent down to collect the ball, van Persie barged into him in a vague attempt to win it. It was understandable that he wanted to vent some of that frustration at play being held up. Sorensen fell to the floor in dramatic fashion and referee Rob Styles marched over brandishing a red card.
As he liked to do, Arsène Wenger defended his player to anybody who would listen once the final whistle had gone. He said the decision was extremely harsh on his star and ranted: ‘If that’s a red card I have to review my rule book.’ Maybe it had been an unfair card but van Persie had still allowed himself to be wound up by the Stoke goalkeeper, who would have known exactly what he was doing. The problem with making a name for yourself as a fiery character is that you are then targeted by opposition players to see if they can get under your skin and force you to do something stupid. Wenger had hoped his man had grown out of that phase by now but there was evidently still a hot-headed lad inside that maturing body.
After serving a suspension van Persie had to endure a terrible comeback game as the Gunners were ripped to shreds in a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City. After wasting the opportunity to score from a free-kick, van Persie was muscled off the ball by Shaun Wright-Phillips in midfield and quick as a flash the Sky Blues had scored. He had not learned from that incident at the Britannia Stadium and decided it would be a good idea to take the ball from Joe Hart as he tried to take a goal kick. He was yellow-carded as a result and was lucky to escape further action for this stupid act that he should have known a lot better than to commit.
He bounced back from that disaster brilliantly with one of the biggest performances of his Arsenal career so far. Van Persie netted two quick-fire goals in a brilliant 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge to keep them in touch with leaders Liverpool. Just before the hour mark, van Persie was fed by Denilson and, ignoring calls of offside, he smacked the ball home. His second was a work of genius as after Adebayor headed down, he span and hit a ball through a packed penalty area and with Petr Cech unsighted, Arsenal had stolen a win. There was an outcry after the game that van Persie’s first was blatantly offside and maybe it was but the important thing was that he had played to the whistle. No whistle was ever blown and he made his Chelsea counterparts pay the price. Wenger beamed afterwards: ‘It was a test of character and we came here with perhaps not the needed level of confidence – but we have shown that we have character.’
Van Persie had put in another excellent shift in a 1-0 home win against West Brom and was unlucky to see a couple of excellent shots blocked. He made up for that with a tremendous solo goal in a Man of the Match performance at home to Liverpool before an Adebayor red card and an injury to Fabregas saw them limp to a 1-1 draw.
It was a shame that such a fantastic goal could not win the match as he chested down a pass and turned to create space before rifling home. Van Persie said Adebayor had not deserved a red card, but that he was thrilled to have scored a spectacular 10th goal of the season. He said: ‘We all fought right until the end and if you look at the goal it was a very nice one – just one touch on my chest before I used my ‘chocolate leg’ as we say back home. It ended up in the corner of the net so yes, it was a good goal.’
He was in a good run of form and was desperately unfortunate to see a side-footed effort crash off the post in the gripping 2-2 Boxing Day draw at Villa Park.
It was a fantastic start to 2009 for van Persie as he was picked to captain the side for the very first time. It was a great honour that the player who had let his side down so badly with that red card at Southampton all those years ago was now considered important enough in the team that he could skipper the side. As he later told Arsenal TV, van Persie was a man who only wanted to be the best. He said: ‘I just do things that I can do the best in. If I am unable to do drawing, I don’t draw. This is how I am and if I try and try at something and it does not work, I say, “See you later.”’ He had tried for many years to be the best at Arsenal and had finally earned the captain’s armband as a reward. There was no ‘see you later’ in sight.
Van Persie always was the man for big occasions and he didn’t disappoint here as he capped wearing the hallowed armband with two goals. Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners over Championship side Plymouth Argyle at the Emirates in a feisty cup tie. An unstoppable van Persie burst into the penalty area unmarked to meet the ball with a stooping header to open the scoring just after the break. Captain fantastic then showcased his unselfish attitude that had won him the captaincy when he set up Nicklas Bendtner for the second goal. He rounded off a dominant display by pinging a powerful shot into the net after dancing a merry jig around the Pilgrims’ goalkeeper.
It was a complete surprise for van Persie to be handed the armband – Wenger took the decision with his regular captains not involved in the game. Regular skipper Cesc Fabregas was injured and his deputy, goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, was on the bench. After the game van Persie said: ‘I was quite surprised when the manager said it, but I love it because I always just try to help and be positive for the team. It is just a great honour to be captain even if it is for just one game.’
Arsène Wenger said van Persie was the perfect choice for captain because of the role he played in the squad. Shouting might not have been his forte but van Persie always had an opinion on how things could be done better. Wenger told the Irish Examiner: ‘Robin is one of the leaders in the dressing room. He is not so much of a shouter but he speaks his mind. The Dutch way is to speak your mind and that is good but I must say he has fantastic humility as well. He listens to your opinion and is enjoyable to manage.’
Van Persie was the main man for the Gunners again as his spectacular last-minute volley rescued a point for the side in a 1-1 draw at Everton. Incredibly he had either scored or set up every goal Arsenal scored in January and was crowned Player of the Month for the third month running. Wenger told the club website that van Persie’s game had been improved greatly at the start of his Arsenal career by playing alongside his role model Dennis Bergkamp. The age of the two was fortunate as it allowed Bergkamp to act like a father figure to a young man who clearly respected him and was keen to learn.
Wenger agreed that Bergkamp had been an important part in van Persie growing up as a footballer. He said: ‘At the start we gave him Dennis Bergkamp as a role model and he is growing into that role very well. Just look at the numbers. He is more of a goalscorer than Dennis and I think he has developed his vision and passing well. Robin respected Dennis and listened to his advice. He arrived when Dennis was already 33, 34 so he accepted to play that kind of master advice role. It was not anymore about van Persie taking his place. He wanted to help him.’
He agreed that van Persie had become marginalised towards the end of his spell at Feyenoord but that Arsenal were not deterred by his relegation to the bench and eventually the reserves by Bert van Marwijk. It was clear the team at Arsenal had faith in his ability to get past this setback and mature into an even better player. It was his passion for football that had brought him to this point, according to Wenger.
He continued: ‘I believe that Robin is passionate about the game. He was a little bit sidelined in Holland when we bought him and during the first year we observed him when he was more on the bench. In fact we watched him more in the Reserves than in the first team. When he arrived here it was a big move for him physically and mentally but I believe he has survived because of his talent and his intelligence but mainly because of his passion for the game. He wanted absolutely to make it. He has developed less on his individual talent than as a team player.’
Van Persie, however, was a less enthusiastic individual than he had been in his younger days. He was happy to have been doing so well for his club and had always previously said that playing football was the most important thing in his life. Not anymore however, as family man van Persie revealed that he had closed ranks somewhat in recent years. He said: ‘I have learned that the world is rough. You must focus only on things that are important to you. That is crucial. And with all due respect: there are not a lot of things that are important. My family is. Besides that there are many who jump the bandwagon. Once you realise that not everything is nice and friendly, you’ll become a lot calmer.
‘Whenever I can make somebody happy I will. I used to try and keep everybody happy. But I cannot change the world. That has been a turning point. I have started to focus on my job and my family. That’s it.’
Back to the action and van Persie netted a late effort as Arsenal progressed to the next round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 win over Championship side Cardiff City. They had hit a brick wall in the league however and drew three consecutive games 0-0 and slipped to a poor fifth position.
It looked as though it would be another fruitless campaign in the Premier League but van Persie struck against AS Roma to continue their good run in the Champions League. He was hacked down after ghosting into the box and van Persie picked himself up to slam home the resulting spot kick to give Arsenal a 1-0 win.
Another brilliant performance from van Persie guided Arsenal through to an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley after a late rally helped them see off troublesome Hull City. Van Persie smacked into the net after finding space brilliantly and took his tally to 16 for the season.
After a brilliant 3-0 second-leg win over Villarreal, Arsenal also found themselves in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Van Persie had a terrific free-kick pushed away from danger before setting up Adebayor for the second goal of the night and he finished the Spaniards off by scoring a late penalty. The contest was extremely easy on the eye with both sides out to play beautiful football. Wenger was pleased to see his team come out on top in a thoroughly entertaining game. He said: ‘We sent out a very offensive team and we played in a convincing way. I was very impressed with the quality and speed of our game.’
The win set up an all-English semi-final showdown with Manchester United, which was a showdown Arsenal were relishing, according to Wenger.
That would prove to be van Persie’s last chance of silverware this season as they were well out of the picture at the top of the Premier League and that man Didier Drogba was once again there to beat them in the FA Cup semi-final. Walcott had put his side ahead but Chelsea eventually ran out 2-1 winners, with van Persie having gone extremely close on several occasions.
He was clearly frustrated after the game and declared the Gunners needed to get their act together before the Champions League final. He said: ‘Every experience makes you stronger, a good one and definitely a bad one. We have to look game by game, because if you look at the schedule from now until the end of the season, it makes you a bit dizzy because we have big games every three or four days.’
Van Persie missed the away leg of the Champions League semi-final through injury but bounced back to claim a starting place in the return game at the Emirates with United leading 1-0. Despite van Persie’s late goal, Arsenal were not good enough for United and were comfortably beaten 3-1 on their own patch. They had been second-best all night and by the time van Persie hammered a penalty into the net the damage had already been done by United and it was another season with nothing to show for all that brilliant football Arsenal had played.
Wenger said winning the Champions League had become his obsession but he would have to regroup his squad and go again next season. They never looked like beating United and would have to buck up their ideas if they ever wanted to lift the great trophy. For van Persie another fruitless season meant that at the age of 24, the incredibly gifted player had not added any trophies to his relatively bare footballing CV that only included the FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
Arsène Wenger would have been relieved to see van Persie sign a new contract in the summer that kept him at the club until 2014. There had been fears that van Persie would leave Arsenal and spark a mass exodus of stars from the Emirates with players growing disillusioned after a string of fruitless seasons in North London. Teenage stars Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Kieran Gibbs all signed new deals after Wenger had convinced them the club would be able to win trophies with their help.
As he approached his mid-twenties van Persie was comfortable at Arsenal and insisted that the club was more than capable of winning silverware in the upcoming season. The new deal was reported to be worth something in the region of £80,000 a week. He said: ‘I have been at the club for five years now and there really is a great feeling here at Arsenal. We have a top-class manager, a squad full of superb young players, a world-class stadium and brilliant supporters. Arsenal have a very bright future and I want to be part of it.’
As they started the season with a thumping 6-1 win at Everton, Arsenal fans began to wonder if Wenger had been talking sense all along and the young stars might finally do something with all their talent. Van Persie set up two of the side’s goals and twice went close with free-kicks as the Gunners turned on the style in Merseyside.
He had been unable to find the back of the net so far in the season but van Persie played an important role as Arsenal scored 15 goals in their first four matches of the season. After all that good work the Gunners again fell down when faced with the challenge of beating Manchester United.
When they were again losers just days later in a visit to Manchester City, the Gunners were already falling off the pace at the top of the Premier League. They were beaten 4-2 at Eastlands but it had been looking like a good afternoon for van Persie as he had finally broken his duck for the season with a classic eye-catching strike. He span sneakily away from Joleon Lescott and smashed the ball into the bottom corner before Shay Given could react. It was a tense afternoon as Emmanuel Adebayor had left Arsenal for City in a summer storm. The pressure had been simmering all game but it boiled over in spectacular style when van Persie flew into a late, rash, sliding tackle on his former teammate. Adebayor had done well to whip the ball away from van Persie’s lunge but as the Dutchman slid to the ground, the City man swung out his right boot and kicked him in the face. He had tried to make the movement appear to be part of his stride but it was fooling nobody. On that night’s BBC Match of the Day, pundit Alan Shearer said it was an ugly incident and that both men had deserved a red card. In the end it was only the City man who saw red.
Adebayor later claimed he had apologised to van Persie on the pitch but the Dutchman said that not only had he not received one, he would never get one in the future either. When asked if he saw a ‘sorry’ lurking on the horizon, van Persie said: ‘Not any more. What can I say? I think he showed how he is in the last couple of weeks.’
Van Persie moved on from his spat with Adebayor when he netted again, this time starring as he scored the only goal of the away fixture at Fulham. Van Persie ran onto a lofted pass from Cesc Fabregas before controlling with his left foot then burying it beyond Mark Schwarzer with his right. It was another top-drawer goal from van Persie as his technical ability secured all three points. Arsenal rookie goalkeeper Vito Mannone pulled off a string of saves to safeguard the win and steal the headlines from van Persie somewhat.
Van Persie was looking unstoppable as he hit another in a 2-0 Champions League win over Olympiacos. Eduardo held up play well before van Persie made a late burst into the box to put the ball away.
Van Persie scored against Blackburn Rovers for the ninth time in eight games as Arsenal powered to a 6-2 victory. In an Emirates goalfest, Fabregas pulled the ball back smartly and van Persie struck a shot so firmly that Robinson had no chance of stopping it. Had he been standing right behind the effort, he would have been propelled into the net in the same way that the ball had been.
Life was blissful for van Persie at present and he celebrated the birth of his second child, Dina Layla, by opening the scoring as Birmingham City were dispatched 3-1 at the Emirates. After Alex Song headed the ball down to his feet, van Persie did very well to get the ball out of that position and slip a shot into the net.
After the game he said to the Irish Examiner that despite a lack of sleep, his life was enhanced greatly by the arrival of his daughter and that having children gave him and Bouchra something to base their lives around. ‘I’m not getting enough sleep at the moment but my family life is fantastic,’ he said. ‘The main things are my two kids and my wife and it makes you stable. It gives you a basis to perform because it is not good to go out all the time.’
After setting up Fabregas brilliantly in the Champions League group game at AZ Alkmaar, van Persie hit another spectacular volley in the 2-2 draw at West Ham to make it six goals for the season. He also nudged a diving header just wide of the mark in another commanding Upton Park performance.
He had been on top form at the start of the season and a brace in the 3-0 humbling of Spurs made van Persie an even more popular man at the Emirates Stadium. He opened the scoring just before the break after beating Ledley King to a Bacary Sagna cross before Fabregas added a second just moments later. It was a comical third goal as the ball pinballed around the area with Ledley King and goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes unable to get a grip on it. The ball bounced off van Persie and ended up in the net.
Spurs had well and truly raised their white flag after van Persie put Arsenal in the lead. Man of the Match van Persie told Sky Sports that his goal had stunned Tottenham, who never looked like coming back from it: ‘It was quite tight and tough in the first half hour because we both went for it. From the moment we scored our first goal they died, basically – straight after Cesc Fabregas’s amazing goal.’
He was really enjoying playing in that central role, as the goalscoring charts proved. Van Persie told the Arsenal match day programme: ‘I’ve had to get used to the new role because I previously played as a second striker, so I needed to find my way in. Earlier in the season, I lost too much energy working defensively and needed to find the right balance. It’s really important for the team that I have enough energy to score goals and make assists, as well as helping out in other ways.’
That humiliation of Spurs was to prove his last action of the season for Arsenal as van Persie suffered ankle ligament damage while on international duty. The Dutch were playing Italy in a friendly when a Giorgio Chiellini challenge left van Persie falling badly on his right ankle and resulted in him being stretchered off the field. Doctors had initially suggested he would only miss six weeks of action and van Persie was bullish about a comeback.
He would do anything to get fit and so when he was told about a new alternative therapy that was supposed to help injuries heal quicker, van Persie nipped off to Belgrade so that the ‘famous’ Mariana Kovacevic could massage horses’ placental fluid onto the injured ankle. These types of alternative therapy were roundly rubbished back in England but van Persie was not fussed about what people were going to say. Manchester City players Pablo Zabaleta, Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany had all been impressed by the results after visiting Kovacevic so van Persie thought he would give it a go.
When he spoke to the BBC ahead of heading to Serbia for the treatment, van Persie sounded far from convinced that it would work. It showed how desperate he was to be a part of the team again that he would travel all this way for what could have been a meaningless exercise. He said: ‘She is vague about her methods but I know she massages you using fluid from a placenta. I have been in contact with Arsenal physiotherapists and they have let me do it. I am going to try because it cannot hurt and, if it helps, it helps.’
Horse placenta or no horse placenta, the recovery did not go well and before he knew it van Persie had seen another important season pass him by. Wenger firmly believed things would have been different with van Persie spearheading the attack for the whole campaign.
As the season drew to a close, Arsenal supporters were left wondering what might have been if van Persie had been fit for the whole season. After trailblazer van Persie led the way in an exhilarating start that saw beautiful football win plaudits and points alike, Arsenal dropped off badly and ended the season in third place, 10 points behind second-placed Manchester United and 11 behind champions Chelsea. Speaking to Arsenal TV during the squad’s traditional end of season ‘lap of appreciation’, van Persie said the side had been great in patches but had just not been consistent enough to challenge for honours. He said: ‘We had great periods. In some we were not enough but I think we showed again that we can play some great football. We played third in a fantastic league, which is not bad, you know.’ Van Persie heard his name sung loudly and proudly by the supporters on his lap round the ground and that would have provided some comfort.
Wenger was clearly a firm believer in the abilities of the Dutchman and compared him to some of the biggest players in the game today. He told The Independent: ‘He had started to compete as one of the best players in the world and suddenly he was out. Would we have been talking about him alongside Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney if he had not been injured? You would have talked about van Persie in that company; of that I am sure. He can give a final ball, score goals and is good on set pieces. He is a leader because he has a football brain and is a football thinker. He has matured a lot in the last three or four years as well.’
The comment about him maturing showed that Wenger knew van Persie was far from the complete package when he initially signed and was his way of saying ‘I was right’, even if his injuries had prevented van Persie from making the impact he may have had otherwise. When they signed him from Feyenoord, van Persie was a bright prospect with serious problems which Wenger clearly believed Arsenal would be able to exorcise.
He was part of a team that were sweeping all aside, scoring 36 goals in 11 league games. Without van Persie the team went on to lose three of their next four matches.
Despite the disappointment of losing him for most of the season, Wenger was optimistic van Persie would have a good World Cup and be back better than ever for the start of the next season in August. He said: ‘When I pick a player it means he’s fit and sharp. Robin lacks match practice, but physically he’s fit. There’s always a gamble but he’s stronger and looking good for the future of his career. What is most satisfying for me is that, in training, he looks as if he hasn’t been out. Overall, I don’t believe we have been unlucky this year. I believe the team has shown unbelievable mental strength and has shown it has made a big step forward.’
Arsenal had all but blown any hope of regaining the Premier League title as they trailed 2-0 at White Hart Lane when van Persie came on with just over 20 minutes left. A stunning volley from Danny Rose on his Premier League debut and a strike from rising star Gareth Bale had already done the damage by the time van Persie was on the pitch but his introduction did spark life into the Gunners. When Abou Diaby flicked the ball into the area, van Persie chested the ball down and drew a spectacular save from goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes with a powerful volley. The Brazilian goalkeeper was not to be beaten and he tipped away a van Persie free-kick before pushing a Sol Campbell header onto the bar as it turned out not to be Arsenal’s night, or Arsenal’s season, once again.