Why is everyone assuming RVP getting injured means Falcao will start? It could mean that we will switch to one up top with that player being Rooney.
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He's our best striker. He's been partnered with completely the wrong partner in Falcao, and has no one wide playing the ball into him.
Fully fit and confident RvP would still rattle goals in. He'll go in the summer I think, and score a shed load next season.
Fully fit and confident RvP would still rattle goals in. He'll go in the summer I think, and score a shed load next season.
Rumours that he's out for 6 weeks from Twitter ITK accounts now too. Over to LVG tomorrow to confirm I guess.
Assuming RVP is injured for a few weeks I think the manager won't play the diamond in the big matches and with Young giving his all and looking more dangerous now he likes to use his left foot I can see the 4-2-3-1 with Mata behind Rooney happening soon as preparation for the big matches.
The manager also has the option of Rooney behind Falcao if he is of the opinion Rooney would be better for his work rate in the big matches.
Alternatively we could see the return of 3-1-4-2.
The manager also has the option of Rooney behind Falcao if he is of the opinion Rooney would be better for his work rate in the big matches.
Alternatively we could see the return of 3-1-4-2.
DOnt think he'll score shed load next season but he should have a better parner, Falcao and him are too look alike as players.
He's not as good as he used to be though, that's for sure.
If that happens Ill be very happy and I reckon we can turn things around and end this season strongly with the formation we should have been playing all season. The only downside will be, how happy can we be if Van Gaal arrives at the solution to our conundrum by accident, rather than design? It doesnt bode well for the future. Still, the main thing is qualifying for the CL and if we play that formation I personally think we will.
I've quoted these from the pics thread as I think @Speak makes an interesting point here. Its actually something that I seem to remember being mentioned on here after that goal against Chelsea, where RVP took his shirt off. He is, without doubt looking a lot leaner thesedays. He looks to have really slimmed down, and lost quite a lot of his muscle mass.
I also did a bit of digging and I've come across this article from his first season here..
http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/footbal...rsie-puts-form-down-to-weight-gain_68578.html
To me, this explains a lot. The main issue with RVP this season (imo) is his lack of physicality. He looks slower, more laboured, and lot weaker. In his first season here he'd hold the ball up with real strength, and constantly brush defenders off, showing unexpected strength in the process. And here he is, from that time, putting his form down to that physical strength. So why is he looking leaner now? Why has he lost that muscle (that he claims helped him play better), and could that be the main reason he's looking so shot thesedays?
To hazard a guess, I'd say the fact that after about two and a half seasons pretty much injury free, him having a more typical stop-start season (last season) played a part. I can't remember how long the individual injuries kept him out for or how bad they all were, but they may have made it difficult to keep the muscle on.
He clearly has a slim body type (he'll still look in football shape when he's a grandad) so he obviously put in serious work to get to that size. Maybe it was just unsustainable long term. He's one of those who doesn't appear to gain significant fat or significant muscle without effort. Sort of like how you couldn't imagine Giggs becoming noticeably bulkier and being able to maintain it for very long.
He could really do with that muscle again, but that won't be happening.
Edit: Would be interesting to know when he gained most of that weight. I'm sure he wasn't as big in his last Arsenal games as he was for us on the opening day against Everton.
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You make very good points. Its clear from his body type that he obviously had to work hard to put that muscle on. Those injuries last season really did feck him, and us. He'd got himself into his best physical form, and was playing the best football of his career, then last season just fecked it all. I guess that was always the risk when buying a (formerly) injury prone player. There was always the chance it would come back and bite us in the ass, especially as he was getting on a bit (in footballing terms anyway). I don't think we'll ever see that 2012 RVP again
Probably gained the weight when he spent half his time out injured. Hard to keep muscle on when you're playing every week. Much easier to bulk up when you're not running 10k every weekend.
You make very good points. Its clear from his body type that he obviously had to work hard to put that muscle on. Those injuries last season really did feck him, and us. He'd got himself into his best physical form, and was playing the best football of his career, then last season just fecked it all. I guess that was always the risk when buying a (formerly) injury prone player. There was always the chance it would come back and bite us in the ass, especially as he was getting on a bit (in footballing terms anyway). I don't think we'll ever see that 2012 RVP again
I'll be interesting to see what happens after a summer with no major championships. I think Ferguson leaving, a bad 13/14 season for the club which included injuries and also his race to get fit for Brazil after the injury against Olympiakos haven't helped along with him being a year older of course. As I've said before, van Persie looks at the stats and won't be happy with what's happened with his form regardless if we finish top 4 or even win the FA Cup. Whether he can do something about it is another question.
Very true. Not sure how I made that connection, now you mention it.
That's the thing - he wasn't injured at any point in about 26 months. Looking at his last few Arsenal goals, he doesn't look particularly bulky. So it seems that he gained the weight during the summer he joined us, which would make sense with the time off.
But these days he's looking even slimmer than he did back before he gained the weight. Maybe he's approaching things differently as he gets older.
Just had a look at Van Persies stats this season (in the league) compared to last two seasons.
1st
2nd
3rd
__________________________12/13_____13/14_____14/15
Goals:_____________________25________11__________10
Assists:____________________15________3___________2
Mins:______________________3015______1443________1993
Mins Per Goal:______________120.6______131.2_______199.3
Mins Per Assist:______________201.0_______481.0_______996.5
Shots Per Game:______________4.0_________3.6_________2.9
Shots on Target Per Game:____1.8_________1.2_________1.4
Shots Target %:______________45.2%______33.3%______47.7%
Conversion Rate:_____________18.5%______19.3%______15.4%
Key Passes Per Game:________2.1_________0.9_________1.1
Touches Per Game:___________47.1________36.9________33.6
N.B. Only games where RVP played as a CF count, not SS or LW/RW
Conclusion:
All his stats are down this season except his shot accuracy and key passes. Not good. His general all round game has diminished hugely since SAF left, significant drop in assists, key passes and touches.
1st
2nd
3rd
__________________________12/13_____13/14_____14/15
Goals:_____________________25________11__________10
Assists:____________________15________3___________2
Mins:______________________3015______1443________1993
Mins Per Goal:______________120.6______131.2_______199.3
Mins Per Assist:______________201.0_______481.0_______996.5
Shots Per Game:______________4.0_________3.6_________2.9
Shots on Target Per Game:____1.8_________1.2_________1.4
Shots Target %:______________45.2%______33.3%______47.7%
Conversion Rate:_____________18.5%______19.3%______15.4%
Key Passes Per Game:________2.1_________0.9_________1.1
Touches Per Game:___________47.1________36.9________33.6
N.B. Only games where RVP played as a CF count, not SS or LW/RW
Conclusion:
All his stats are down this season except his shot accuracy and key passes. Not good. His general all round game has diminished hugely since SAF left, significant drop in assists, key passes and touches.
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Updated the above with 12/13 Season. It's a very worrying drop in form but the question is how much of this is down to the team and change in the tactics or whether its just RvP diminishing. His accuracy is the best its been and yet his conversion rate is the worst and his all round contribution to the team is a shadow of what it once was.
I miss 12/13 RvP
I miss 12/13 RvP
Maybe he got too heavy with muscles? Of course a player will feel stronger with more muscles, but it's still weight that has to be carrierd around, weight that has inertia, weight that bangs down on all the joints and ligaments with every step. Ibrahimovic once told that he got too muscular, and went to loose about 10 kilos in muscles to regain his agility and quick feet. Maybe Van Persie didn't stay within the boundaries of his natural body type?
Looks like it happened, i'm not sure if it was RVP's absence though, if anything Shaw's injury or whatever is wrong with him is probably the reason for this formation change.
People wanting RVP out just so Falcao can slot right back in...
People wanting RVP out just so Falcao can slot right back in...
No, people wanted a 4-2-3-1 with preferably Mata behind Rooney.
Rooney behind Falcao is a start, if Falcao doesn't perform then it will be Mata behind Rooney but if he does then there is no problem.
At least it appears as though we are fielding a formation which will provide more width and pace with Young's inclusion. (Assuming he performs).
I'm not even sure what gave you the idea people wanted Falcao, I think you should go and read the match day thread before you start laughing at things that aren't true, most are saying Falcao is the only thing they would change.
Wonder how different the last few games would've been had RvP not been injured.
I'm slightly concerned van Gaal will drop the 4-3-3 to facilitate van Persie when he returns, hopefully not though.
Today may have not been much different. We are clicking as a team irrespective of who is playing, although, that may have been less the case if RvP was playing instead of Rooney, since the latter is more active in tracking back.
Three or four months ago I would never have said this but providing we can get two good strikers in this summer I think we should seriously consider selling him.
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Maybe he's the player that profits the most from this recently found click all over the team.
He'll probably thrive now that we've clicked.
When he comes back where does he go? I say the bench
He'll struggle to make it into our team at the moment, especially ahead of Rooney who, while he was poor today, has been offering more up front than RVP did. He'll certainly still get plenty of game time, but he'll have to work hard if he wants to regain a starting position.
No chance. Not after how good and 'balanced' we've been in the last couple of games. If he was to put him in, he'd most likely put Rooney in for Fellaini, with Van Persie going up top. Be very harsh on Fellaini, though. Should be left on the bench, in my opinion.
Yep, he should give Januzaj some company there.
He'll take Falcao's cameo roll for a few games, maybe get a couple of starts before the end of the season. No way does he walk back into the side.
More likely he'd drop Herrera than Fellaini tbh. But neither should be dropped to facilitate Van Persie.
I like RVP but Rooney simply has so many more facets to his game as a #9. We lose so much by playing RVP up front n my opinion.
Yeah, I'm with this. I'm guessing that RvP will either be gone in the summer or play "bit part striker" role next season.
Our recent for has nothing to do with RVP not playing, it's mainly because of the tactic we are using. I'm sure he can easily play at the same level as Rooney in this team.
Anyway, he'll be on the bench in the first few games for sure, taking over Falcao's role until a spot in the team will be available. He'll basically be in the same situation as Di Maria is now, he has to wait for someone to have a bad game and get dropped to get in.
Anyway, he'll be on the bench in the first few games for sure, taking over Falcao's role until a spot in the team will be available. He'll basically be in the same situation as Di Maria is now, he has to wait for someone to have a bad game and get dropped to get in.
With our current setup, I think RVP is the better lone striker, but since LVG wants Rooney to play as hes the captain, then if he puts Rooney in midfield or plays 2 strikers, then I think our play will go back to how it was at the start of the season
As harsh as it is, I'd imagine he'll bench Fellaini and ease RvP back in upfront, Rooney will drop a bit deeper. Herrera and Carrick will stay, and it'll be AdM and Mata wide.
I hope he has the balls to do the right thing and move RvP on this summer. Getting rid of his and Falcao's wages alone will allow us to make another world class signings.
I really hope LVG doesn't just bring him back in but I'm worried he will. Rvp seems to have a free pass this season and it won't shock me if LvG were to change his system and play the ridiculous Rooney RvP combo again just to play him.
RvP will be a starter once 100% fit.
That's what I think will happen. And I think it's probably a good way to go.
Playing RvP would be ridiculous. It means removing an effective Fellaini and throwing in a totally ineffective and off form RvP as well as changing the one striker system which is really working well in the last two big games.
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