Robin Van Persie: Legend or not

Good day to y’all

Today’s blog post arose as a result of a simple harmless birthday message I posted on my Blackberry messenger to captain Robin Van Persie. The message read: Happy Bday Robin Van Persie. #legend. Five minutes later and one of the regular readers of my blog messaged me and said No sir he’s not. And that's how it started. 5 hours later, the same argument was still raging on my BBM Arsenal group as the house is divided on if RvP can really be called an Arsenal legend.

The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines legend as

A very famous person, especially in a particular field who is admired by many other people.

A very wide definition if you ask me but with football, we can add some other criteria to it such as trophies, outstanding ability and maybe longevity. Trophies as that's the crowning glory for the players and fans at the end of every season, outstanding ability, will earn the respect and adulation of the team mates, fans and opponents alike and longevity will ensure that the player performs for the club consistently for a long period of time.

For Robin, he checks two out of three totally (Outstanding ability and Longevity)and even if he did not win us the FA cup in 2005, he also has a winners medal to his name as well as a community shield winners medal as well. Add the OALD definition to it and you have a legend on your hands.

Robin came in as a somewhat prodigal son from Holland in 2004 and in 2011, Wenger handed him the captain’s arm band which was a testament to the remarkable progress that he has made not only as a player but as a person. He had evolved in those 7 years as a footballer, going from a raw talent to become one of the finest strikers if not the best striker in Europe at the moment and as a man moving from a troublesome rascal who constantly had altercations with his former coach Bert van Marwijk into a responsible husband and father of two children.

Robin’s versatility on the pitch is amazing. He was signed from his former club as a left winger but was converted to play as the centre striker, a second striker behind the main striker and as an attacking midfielder. Positions all of which he excelled brilliantly. He has the ability to not only score but create goals and this is evident in the 62 assists he has in his Arsenal career till date and also being the league’s assist leader in the 2008/2009 season. In fact in January 2009, every Arsenal goal was either scored or assisted by Robin van Persie. That's the kind of influence that great players have on their team.

It’s a huge shame that injuries have been part of his game and have hindered him from having that kind of influence on the team for an extended period during a season but one thing is certain, he definitely has the ability. As it stands, Robin van Persie is 8^th on the list of Arsenal’s all time goal scorers. That means only 7 men has scored more goals since the club was formed in 1886. That means that of the thousands of men that have worn the Arsenal shirt since 1886, only 7 of them have scored more goals that Robin van Persie. I don’t know about others but in my books, that's a fantastic personal achievement.

In the 7 years that Robin has spent at the club, RvP has been voted Arsenal player of the season on two occasions in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 season and also the club’s highest goal scorer on four occasions in 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Other personal achievements include, Premier League Golden Boot, 2011–12, PFA Players' Player of the Year, 2011–12,

PFA Fans' Player of the Year, 2011–12, PFA Premier League Team of the Year, 2011–12, FWA Footballer of the Year 2011–12. Van Persie also holds the record for most consecutive number of away goals scored in the EPL scoring in 9 consecutive league games from the period of January to May 2011 amongst others and all for our darling club Arsenal.

Some people argue that Robin’s injury plagued career at Arsenal has prevented him from earning his legendary status at the club but I argue that it’s not his fault that he gets injured, and most times, he gets injured playing for us. Moreover, for a team like Arsenal, we are not supposed to rely solely on one man to bring us glory every season. Van Persie’s talent is no doubt one that can ensure that but as one man does not make a forest, he needs other world class players to fill in for him when he is not playing.

I wonder which tournament we would be struggling for this season if Robin had had one of his injury problems last season when he led the team to a very respectable third place finish after our disastrous start to the season. Certainly not the champions league though. Our other striking options had a combined goal total of 2 goals and if we add Henry’s 3 in January, makes 5. Another problem Arsenal has had over the years is the departure of our best players over the years and not being replaced by quality ones and the ones that have developed leaving when they are mature enough to make a real difference at the club. Am sure I don’t need to list such players as we know them off hand and the inability of the club to replace them with players of similar quality has made our quest for a trophy more difficult every season and surely that can’t be put on Van Persie’s shoulders.

A player like Alan Shearer played for the Toons and his best achievements were to finish runners up in the league once in the 1996-1997 season and runners up in the FA cup twice in 1997 and 1998 but who in the footballing world dare says Shearer is not a Newcastle legend. Legends don’t come better than him.

Earlier in the summer, Robin announced that he would not be renewing his contract with us and despite the general clamor of betrayal from Arsenal fans ( and rightly so ) I have always insisted that he shouldn’t be sold and be made to see out the last days of his contract. In his released statement, Robin said

 Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed at all.

It has become clear to me that we in many ways disagree in many ways in which the club should move forward.

Let us assume that Robin did not agree with the club’s selling of its star performers every season and he was clamouring for a change. Lets assume that financial terms is not really an issue and moving the club forward is really the issue. If moving the club forward is the issue and signing of quality players is centre to moving the club forward, then obviously the statement has caused some positive reactions from the club. I don’t think there is an Arsenal fan out there that has not been pleased with our transfer dealings so far this summer.  Personally, I don’t know the last time I feel so confident about the Arsenal squad and their chances of a trophy before a season got on the way.

If RvP stays and signs a new contract, he would have not only convinced people more of his commitment, but also lay claim for the flurry of transfer activities that will definitely bring a positive change and hopefully a trophy to the Emirates at the end of the season.

So does anyone still doubt his legendary status at the club?

Please drop your comments below and on my twitter page @nigeriangunners and I will be glad to continue the argument from there.

God bless the Arsenal. Iree o