Are Arsenal going to cope without Van Persie?
Published: 2013 February 15 10:08:31 (5445 Views)
The sale of Robin van Persie by Arsenal left many fans worried.
Olivier Giroud, considered the Dutchman’s replacement, took some time to adjust to English football and there was a fear that the Gunners would struggle without the 30-goal haul Van Persie managed last season – 22 strikes more than any other player in the Arsenal squad.
Rather than sign a like-for-like replacement, rather than continue to place all the goalscoring burden on one player, Arsene Wenger adapted his side and brought in three new faces to share that burden.
Those three new recruits – Santi Cazorla (nine), Lukas Podolski (eight) and Giroud (nine) – have struck 26 times so far this season, at a strike rate of a goal a game. Van Persie actually struck less regularly, averaging a goal every 1.27 games.
The Gunners’ attack is now loaded with players willing to try their luck from range, such as Podolski, Cazorla and Mikel Arteta, and 42% of their total shots on goal have come from outside the box.
Arsenal new-found amalgamation of varying goal types was most evident in the 5-1 win over West Ham. There was a Podolski thunderbolt from long range, a converted corner, two subtle finishes after fizzed crosses by the German and, mixed in with that, a trademark Arsenal goal, with lovely one-touch interplay preceding a deft flick from Cazorla.
Replacing Van Persie with a like-for-like replacement would have been both impossible and unhelpful, and in not falling into that trap Arsenal are now no longer reliant on one player. They’re a more balanced side, full of different threats and different ways to score.
- Goal.com
Olivier Giroud, considered the Dutchman’s replacement, took some time to adjust to English football and there was a fear that the Gunners would struggle without the 30-goal haul Van Persie managed last season – 22 strikes more than any other player in the Arsenal squad.
Rather than sign a like-for-like replacement, rather than continue to place all the goalscoring burden on one player, Arsene Wenger adapted his side and brought in three new faces to share that burden.
Those three new recruits – Santi Cazorla (nine), Lukas Podolski (eight) and Giroud (nine) – have struck 26 times so far this season, at a strike rate of a goal a game. Van Persie actually struck less regularly, averaging a goal every 1.27 games.
The Gunners’ attack is now loaded with players willing to try their luck from range, such as Podolski, Cazorla and Mikel Arteta, and 42% of their total shots on goal have come from outside the box.
Arsenal new-found amalgamation of varying goal types was most evident in the 5-1 win over West Ham. There was a Podolski thunderbolt from long range, a converted corner, two subtle finishes after fizzed crosses by the German and, mixed in with that, a trademark Arsenal goal, with lovely one-touch interplay preceding a deft flick from Cazorla.
Replacing Van Persie with a like-for-like replacement would have been both impossible and unhelpful, and in not falling into that trap Arsenal are now no longer reliant on one player. They’re a more balanced side, full of different threats and different ways to score.
- Goal.com
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