Van Persie is a symbol of hope for Arsenal

When Arsenal Football Club let go of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri over the summer, they had lost two very influential playmakers, around whom and through whom their football was played. As a result, the midfield pair took on the mantle – whether they liked it or not – of leaders for the side, and more often than not, led by example. Certainly this was the in case of Cesc Fabregas, who was handed the armband by Wenger in 2008 and whenever the Catalan native was on the sidelines, Nasri was able to step into his shoes effectively.

When these two players left the club, however, Arsenal appeared to be at sea in their opening games of the season: a goalless draw at Newcastle in which new summer signing Gervinho was sent off, a 0-2 defeat at home to Liverpool where Nasri played his last game for Arsenal and where youngster Emmanuel Frimpong was given his marching orders, and THAT 8-2 lossat Old Trafford, where the team went to pieces and rookie defender Carl Jenkinson saw red.

And then Arsenal’s new captain stepped up.

Robin van Persie opened his account for the season in an away game to Udinese in a Champions League qualifying game, and had it not been for the Netherlands international, Arsenal could’ve found themselves in a much worse situation than they are now, and is one of the last remaining senior players in the Arsenal team who played alongside Fabregas and Nasri.

He is therefore a symbol, if you will, of what remains of that period. While some may have questioned Wenger’s decision to hand van Persie the armband so that he doesn’t join the exodus of players who have sought greener pastures, van Persie has led by example. Like most of the team, he needed to shake off the presence (rather the lack) of Fabregas and Nasri and move forward. The press were quick to fabricate rumours about van Persie moving to cash-rich Manchester City and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, but he has laughed them off in his pre-match interviews and has reiterated his commitment to Arsenal. Van Persie has shown that he means business on the pitch, and as captain, shown that he is willing to shoulder the burden of helping the team move forward. He has indeed let his work do the talking this season. His brace against Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates brought him to one hundred career goals for Arsenal, and he continued that good form with a clinical opener and a delicious free kick against Sunderland to hand Arsenal three very valuable points, propelling them into the top half of the table. And while there will be fans of other clubs who will snigger at that, it shows that Arsenal are indeed moving on from losing two of their most influential players.

With the passage of time the Dutchman has blossomed into an extremely skilled player, one who is technically very gifted. Being naturally left footed, his strikes have been called a “hammer blow” by commentator Alan Smith and has worked on scoring with his – as described by him – ‘chocolate’ right leg, meaning that he has been moulded into a deadly and technically brilliant two-footed striker. Another advantage the Dutchman has is his versatility. As Arsene Wenger says, “He can play on the left side of midfield, as a creative player behind the main strikers or as a target man”. Like Thierry Henry before him, van Persie started his career as a winger, but was cast in the image of a striker by Wenger.

There’s just one problem with the Dutchman: as his Arsenal.com profile puts it, “if he stays fit, you can count on the captain for goals.” Van Persie is extremely injury prone and hasn’t been able to finish a full season for more than five years now. Ironically, had he been fit, Arsenal would’ve been able to end their trophy drought. The Emirates crowd love watching van Persie play, but every time he is clattered into, their hearts jump into their mouths, because he has had rotten luck with injuries in the past, often staying on the sidelines for a very long time, hampering his progress. It is for this reason that the talented Dutchman – through no fault of his own – cuts a very frustrating figure at times.

Dsepite van Persie leading from the front, Arsenal are aware that he could leave Ashburton Grove over the summer. He is after all the poster-boy of Arsene Wenger’s fabled youth system and his adult career has been a series of dramatic near-misses. Arsenal always falter at the end of the domestic season, and they went out in heart-breaking fashion to Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final and to Chelsea and Birmingham City in the 2006 and 2010 Carling Cup Finals. The only piece of silverware in van Persie’s trophy cabinet is the 2005 FA Cup, where he was a fringe player and fourth choice striker behind Henry, Jose Antonio Reyes and Dennis Bergkamp. Even if Arsenal do land some silverware this season, van Persie has every right to leave with his honour intact.

The silver lining though, is that although he has been courted many times in the past by the likes of Internazionale Milano and Real Madrid, van Persie has always shown his loyalty for the Red and White. Although Arsene Wenger may shudder at the thought of losing van Persie over the summer, the modern generation of overseas recruits does not have the same loyalty of the previous generation. If this is a golden rule in modern day football, and if Arsenal do continue to steadily rise up the table, than the Flying Dutchman could prove to be quite the exception.