Robin Van Persie believes Arsenal can end trophy drought
Arsenal’s stand-in captain Robin Van Persie says the Gunners can end the club’s six-year quest for silverware this season. Van Persie was talking to reporters after he led his team to secure qualification into the knockout stage of the Champions League,
with a 3-1 win over Partizan Belgrade at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are the current league leaders in the English Premier League, but Manchester United has a match in hand; a game against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Monday night. A victory in that match would confirm the Gunners status as title contenders. United
Winger Nani has already acknowledged that the North Londoners are their main rivals this season.
Another factor that will work in Arsenal’s favour is that fellow London club and defending Premier League champions Chelsea are struggling to get results in their matches. The Blues face a tough task this weekend in the form of the much improved Tottenham
Hotspurs.
However consistency has been a major problem for Arsene Wenger’s young side in the past. The Gunners have come close to the title on a number of occasions in the last few seasons, only to throw it away in the latter end of the season. Sometimes, Arsenal
look like a side that can beat any team in the world, but at others they fail to overcome even mediocre opposition. Even this season has not been great for Arsenal, because they still have to find the consistency in their results. But then again none of the
top teams have really found their rhythm this season. If Wenger is able to win all the crucial games this month, it could be difficult to stop Arsenal from clinching the title in May.
Things have worked out quite well for the Gunners in the Carling Cup as well, after Manchester United was knocked out by a spirited West Ham side. Chelsea was knocked out much earlier in the tournament, leaving Arsenal in the unlikely position of being favourites
to win the trophy. Arsenal now faces Ipswich Town in the semi-finals, and a potential final clash with either West Ham or Birmingham City at Wembley for the trophy.
Arsenal hasn’t had it all their way in the Champions League though. After winning their first group stage games three games, the Gunners lost their next two away games against Shahktar Donetsk and Braga, which left their qualification into the next round
hanging in the balance. They managed to beat Partizan Belgrade in their final group game, but finished the group in second place. Arsenal now face a tough draw in the knockout stage, which could see them paired with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or
Schalke 04.
An unfavourable draw might see their European campaign end prematurely, because the Gunners don’t seem like they are ready to face any big teams at the moment. They have been trying to find their form and have not been successful on the road, something which
could hurt them against the big sides.
In the past, belief was something that was missing in Arsenal’s players. However, this season the players and manager seem to have the belief that they can win something. Therefore, the winning mentality of Arsenal players could definitely help them in securing
some silverware. Although injured captain Cesc Fabregas had reservations about his team’s title credentials, things have been turning in Arsenal’s favour in recent weeks.
The biggest positive this season has been how other players have stepped up, when Arsenal had a number of star players injured. Samir Nasri continues to make his mark in place of the injured Fabregas, after his brilliant performances week in and week out.
Also, in the absence of Van Persie it was Marouane Chamakh who was scoring goals for his team in England as well as in Europe. With everything working out this season, it does seem that Van Persie’s belief is not too far-fetched.
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