The YAMA Player of the Year

It will likely come as little surprise whom I’ve picked as this year’s POY. He was player who place an awful lot on his shoulder’s this season when he switched from his number 11 to the 10 the a former dutchman made famous. He is also a player who we give a lot of guff to because of his unlucky knack of finding ways to get injured. That’s right this year’s POY is Arsenal forward Robin Van Perise.

It’s quite simple really – in 19 games as a starter he had 18 goals in the EPL. He finished two behind Berbatov and Tevez playing in only 25 games total. He scored a goal in 9 stratight away games and frankly if not for the prolific foot of the dutch striker Arsenal could have found themselves in a worse situation then they did at the end of the season. In the final slush through the season, it was only the consistency of Van Persie that enabled Arsenal to either scratch out a draw or look respectable whenever anything else looked horrible.

Much wasn’t known about Robin when he joined the club in 2004. He had only managed to play two years for Feynoord’s first team before he was clipped away by Arsene Wenger. It was at Wenger’s finishing school at Arsenal that Van Persie started to come into his own. Shortly afer his Arsenal debut he made his international debut for the Oranje of the Netherlands.

When he was signed by Wenger he was originally signed as a left winger but was seen as the replacement for Dennis Bergkamp. Wenger in much the same way he did with Thierry Henry converted Van Persie to a central forward and for the start of his career played mostly as the second striker in FA Cup and Carling Cup matches. But with the departure of Bergkamp and Ljunberg, Van Persie was given the chance to star alongside Henry.

Robin has had a history of disciplinary problems – though that is largely beside him – even though flashes of his fiery side are still seen. And after that he is very well known for a rash of untimely injuries. LIke the one he suffered last season in a mindless friendly against Italy where he ruptured his achilles. But when he is healthy he is explosive.  His shot is rifle hot and his free kick can be deadly – though it wasn’t much of a factor this season.

This season he topped his best goal performance in all competitions with 21. His previous best being 20 in 2008/2009. Now that Adebayor is gone he leads Arsenal’s line in the 4-3-3 but he has a penchant for dropping back deep. Which makes his goal scoring rate even more prolific. He would likely benefit from a strong number 9 so he could truly unleash his stature as the heir to Bergkamp in the 10 role.

He is quick and skilled and is an instant  game changer. He has vision and is techinically skilled. However, he does have that injury problem which has prevented him over the recent past from completing a full season. He isn’t particulary wonderful in the air, like many Arsenal players he sometimes opts for the more difficult path forward rather than the simply path – and if I am truthful I would think he is still something of a hot head which could get him into trouble.

“He is very intelligent and talented but most of all he is passionate about the game. At the start we gave him Dennis Bergkamp as a role model. And he has grown into the Bergkamp role. He is becoming like Dennis in his passing – and he scores more goals than Dennis. He respected Dennis and listened to his advice.” Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger in February 2009

I am looking for a fruitful 2011/2012 and hoping Van Persie can stay healthy and win a Golden Boot.

Robin’s best goal of the season? – Vs Barcelona at the Emirates

Robin’s 2010/2011 Goals

 

 
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