Van Persie drops in to save day

Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1: THE PROBLEM with having only one dependable forward on the books is there is something of a Bermuda …

Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1:THE PROBLEM with having only one dependable forward on the books is there is something of a Bermuda Triangle when he is not there.

For three-quarters of this match Robin van Persie watched from the sidelines, given the well-deserved breather Arsene Wenger had been summoning up the courage to hand him for some time.

Poor Marouane Chamakh was given his first Premier League start of the season but laboured for just over an hour and has managed just two goals in his last 32 games. The other option, Park Chu-young, the South Korean forward signed in the summer transfer window, is due a second outing in the League Cup tomorrow night but has not yet set the Arsenal world on fire.

With Arsenal straining for cohesion, short of spark against Stoke City, their top-scoring captain came on in the 66th minute. It took him around a quarter of an hour to score twice, swat aside any semblance of threat from the opposition, and lift the mood immeasurably. Van Persie’s outstanding record of 30 goals from 36 games in this calendar year underscores his importance to the team.

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Wenger explained that Van Persie, right, felt some tightness after his recent exertions for club and country, and even his presence on the bench was in doubt.

“You think 15 times before leaving him out,” he said. “You think ‘Do I really do it or not?’ I felt at some stage, with the number of games he has played and the history he has, you are cautious.”

The manager wanted Van Persie to share the credit with the “lively and influential” Gervinho, who scored one and made both of Van Persie’s goals. Aaron Ramsey, who had his own reasons for having a few nerves about this particular game after the double fracture of the leg sustained against these opponents last year, carved Stoke apart for the opening goal in the 27th minute. The Welshman chipped a pass in to Gervinho, who chested down to finish.

Stoke’s response was predictable. A well-worked set-piece attacked with conviction, allied to Arsenal’s defensive confusion, made it easy for Peter Crouch, who was the fourth Stoke player to claim a free ball en route to the equaliser. The collective paralysis set in as soon as the ball hit the box. But apart from the goal, Arsenal handled Stoke’s aerial threat fairly comfortably.

That Arsenal disputed the free-kick in the first place, given when Laurent Koscielny leaned into Crouch as they competed for a ball in the air, might have irked Wenger more had his team not gone on to win. The same went for a reasonable penalty appeal when Andy Wilkinson dragged down Chamakh.

The first plaintive shouts for Van Persie began four minutes into the second half. When he arrived, suddenly, there was thrust and imagination in the final third. There was also heat as the Dutchman reacted to an elbow in the head from Ryan Shawcross.

Arsenal were winning their sixth match out of seven, aiding the recovery from early season calamities. Wenger had a few empathetic words for Manchester United in their moment of trauma.

“What is most difficult – what we faced – was the emotional aspect of the result. It remains in your head and your body.”

To his credit, the visiting manager, Tony Pulis, refused to blame the fatigue that comes with extra European matches. He is looking for a response in the League Cup against Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium on Wednesday night.

“I don’t think our football club will win the Premier League,” he said. “Our biggest aim is staying in the league but we want to do well in the cup competitions. Last season’s FA Cup run galvanised the club.”

Suffice it to say, Van Persie will be taking another rest when Arsenal play their League Cup tie with Bolton.

Guardian Service