Should Wenger have played Van Persie last night?
Arsène Wenger divisively left Robin Van Persie out of the starting line-up against Marseille, looking for Park to score the goals instead. Of the change, the manager said, “The reason I left Robin out was physical tiredness – that’s all. He would have to play 50 matches a year. He cannot play 50 games.”
After the game finished as a goal-less draw, Wenger concluded, “It was a bit on the edge. It was a gamble. You can say it didn’t come off. He had a great chance when he came on.” Indeed, his cheeky attempt at a lob wasn’t quite pinpoint enough to trouble Mandanda and he was unable to change the end result, in spite of some excellent crossing and general presence on the pitch.
Despite the point being two less than they might have hoped for, leaving Van Persie out had to be done. Relying on the likes of Park to fill-in for Carling Cup games is understandable but there needs to be a point where they step-up – and last night was just that time. Park’s performance was arguably his least successful, the Korean’s touch of class lacking and his ability to make decent runs not showing much at all. Still, it was a move Wenger had to make if, as he said, Van Persie isn’t to play “50 matches a year”.
Was the decision not to play Van Persie the right one?
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Wenge’s judgement when it comes to resting players is questionable. He rested 8 players in two games last season when arsenal was suppossed to earn maximum points to pip Man U and lost the two games. He was not supposed to rest VP in this game. It was an important game. Messi is fielded nearly every game. I guess VP was not imppressed by being on the bench. At times it takes away the player’s momentum. Anyway, Wenger always wants to be different, but it costs the team.
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I think it was. RVP is injury prone (we must accept that) therefore resting him occasionally is a must. Also, if we DIDN’T play Park, Chamakh etc every so often, how out of form do you think they would be if and when they had to step up to the plate fully…i.e if and when RVP gets injured?
I have said this before: it is no coincidence that our other strikers only seem to find their form when RVP is out! You cannot expect them to come in once a month and show their top form. For example, the statistic is banded about that Chamakh has only scored once in 31 apps. Now that is poor, no doubt, but I strongly think that if he played for a decent stretch, he would score and then keep scoring.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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No he was wrong, park did nt see enough of the ball in the 60 minutes he was on the pitch. Wenger should have left him.
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I think the signing of one more striker would do us a power of good.
And perhaps Wenger could play with 2 upfront occasionally, with RVP and Park to ease park into the team?
Throwing him in and playing him as sole striker is a tall order for a new signing
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Agreed, I think if Chamakh had a run of games where he started and scored a couple then the floodgates would open. As it is, RVP seems to be the most reliable goal scorer. We need him at his top form and free of injury so he does need a rest every so often. Same goes for Ramsey. Give Park & Chamakh (preferably both on the pitch at the same time) a few games and see what they produce. One of them will definitely prove their worth and solidify as our #2 striker. Do it in the Carling Cup!
I’m more concerned with RVP getting a knock when he goes away on iternational duty. He didn’t need to play for Holland against Italy last year and he picked up a bad long layoff injury. I fear that will happen again. Same with Theo, he always seems to come back worse than when he left.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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mr wenger is rigth in resting Rvp its the best atleast now park knws he have to work on his runs and play with confidence i will love to see him more games…he is a great finisher the game yestaday was not the game arsenal midfilder played..they were poor on the ball like gervinho,ramsey,walcot the performed blow their games,song passes were poor,arteta did well ramsey never made any run for the striker,
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Wenger was right not to play him. There’s no guarantee Arsenal would have won the game if RVP was on the pitch anyway. Obviously, the other folks need to step up.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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wenger should know that not all strikers can play alone. Park and chamarkh are not lone strikers. If u want to utilize them pair the two or one with another supporting striker.
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4 points from 2 matches with marseille is very good… we just can’t afford for van persie to get injured, and let’s face it he is injury prone, even tough he massively improved his physical strength… wenger was 100% right to rest him, we must win against WBA, and we will have a much easier task with wnn persie…
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Persie is on top of his game at the moment and should be given all the rest time wenger can afford due to his injury proned nature else he may burn out of form or possibly get injured.it is therefore vital that wenger rests him even after starting him when the job is done.remeber less injured persie more inform arsenal.his clinical finishing is very important.
Rate me pls
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Mario Gomez- Real Madrid…. what an awesome boy. Could do well at the Arsenal alongside RVP, the legend already.
Hazrd behind, then weca talk. Gooner C Town South Africa
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the main thing for us at the moment is keeping RVP fit and if that means resting him for some games then so be it. the other players need to step up and prove themselves.
therefore wenger is completrly right.
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Yes he should have played rvp. he needed to make sure of qualification which would have gave him 2 games to play reserves but i can understand as beating west brom is more important
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Sorry Mario Gomez from Bayern just got hat-trick. That’s what we need next to RVP.
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It was a gamble and it did not hurt us. Word to taking 4 points out of two matches with marseille, that is a solid result. With vp, song, tv5, Ramsey, and gerv (I pray he can finish!) in the team i’m looking forward to the WBA game.
Up Gunners
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Yoann Gourcuff and Chris Samba real musts, either one wil do.
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A little bit of topic… Watching Lyon vs RM. Gourcuff is absolute rubbish as he was in the first game. Would hate if Wenger decided to go for him again…
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There defence was good at their ground we wouldn’t of broke through there defence even with RVP on the pitch it was good to rest him and let Park play.
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I want to say this even though it’s off topic.
I’m sick of people criticizing arsenal, look at our streak we’re on. at the beginning of the season we were talking about relegation and sacking wenger. Now look at us, we’ve got back to 7th in no time. We even have to choose between our centre halves now, so our defense is obviously improved. This is why we’re such a great club.
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rvp shud jst b rest for the 90minhtes yesterday..also against west brom..let he cme from bench in west brom match..why wenger dnt try to suport park with arshavin bhind em..that cn help em..gervinho atleft..benayoun at right..walcot as a sub yesterday..cme in scond half..i wud put this lineup gainst marseille;
szc
jenkinson-mert-tv5-santos
arteta-coquelin/rosicky/song
benayoun- -gervinho
arshavin
park
ramsey n walcott cme in scond half..rvp shud jst b rest in that match..nverthless a draw is a draw..we gt a point from there..wnder hw the lineup wud b against west brom..wud rvp start?r park?i think it shud b like this against westbrom;
szc
jenkinson-kos-tv5-santos/gibbs
arteta-song/coquelin
rosicky
gervinho arshavin
park..
rest mert..f gibbs cmeback..rest santos..ramsey n walcott on in the scond half..n rvp too..myopinion..
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I don’t know why there has been such a strong reaction to last night. We are a million miles away from the crisis at the start of the season, and the opposition were actually a pretty good team, particularly at the back (something that seems to have been forgotten by most people). In fact I don’t think there are many better defensive sides in the PL at the moment. Man City, certainly, but beyond them, I’m not convinced. Overall we controlled the game and were the only team that was ever going to score.
It was Park’s first time playing with the first team, and he should be given more time to adjust. It would probably be good for him to get some minutes in PL matches against more mediocre opposition. He looked pretty nervous for most of the match, but there were two moments where theo could have given him an opportunity to score, and was let down by the final ball. His workrate was excellent, and he won a couple of amazing headers I really didn’t expect him to; one of which set up a break for theo. It will not be good enough if he keeps playing like this, but he was far from awful, and there were positive moments to build on.
We lost nothing really by leaving van persie out, and overall the team played well. I’m now looking forward to every game because I feel like most of the problems have been sorted, and we are a decent side again. There are still things that need improving, but considering our awful start, a 0-0 draw with Marseille should not be a big deal – are we supposed to win every single game now???
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woried f rvp start against west brom..before the stoke match he hd a thight strain..nw wengie may sense anythng wud hpen f he cntinues..he shud b rest..atleast two weeks..r minimum one weeks..wenger shud jst rest em against marseille for the whole 90minutes..and against west brom f nothin change put him in second half for that 30minutes left..cust nxt week is crucial..we need him..hpe there wud b no setback for rvp..cus that gonna b a major blow..we hv atleast 1month bfore that january..one week rest for em might b gud..play em at the end of the week in premier league in the scind half..aainst dortmund is crucial..so a win to guaranteed the top in the group..f marseille lose??r draw..so we need to play em nxt week..when do he gonna hv hes rest?t shud b jst this week..why dnt try in scond half to bring arshavin for park n move him to central forward..r atleast try walcott n that role against that marseille..with left gervinho,right arshavin..up walcott..try dferently against that marseille dfence..mayb we cn achieve sumthng instead yet again risk em..play em even for 30 minutes..why nt gve em a rest..against west brom..dortmund..we need him..f we win against marseille..so we cn rest him against dortmund..wonder hw nw..hpefully park step up..he wud improve..i think he need a suport..effectively with arshavin bhind em suporting as a scond striker..park still try to gel in n cope with the first team..it is his first time cmbining with the first team..with gervinho..walcott n ramsey..it is nt easy to b as rvp..he cn bring hes own style..wenger trust him n the whole team..the one team cn mke dferences even the goalkeeper..f arsenal win it is a one team wining not one match winner only..so wenger gona prove that arsenal nt dpend on rvp alone..cme on ramsey,park,walcott..step up n score some goals..even arteta..song..f cn the dfences too..step up..we cn dfence as a team now n we cud do also atacking as a team..the creativity is stil what we need in the central..goetzeeee!!!!!!! vertonghen for left back..backup santos..cn rotate them..vertinghen cn play in central r dfensive midfield..for the striker.. rumours. .podolski!jovetic!llorente! no soldado news..i think podolski wud b a great adition r anyone as long as he banging goal for us..n rvp cn get his rest even a month holiday honeymoon with his wife..haha..justkidding!dnt b mad arsenal fans. .cus m a gooner too
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@davi
yea arsenal want to win evry single match to silence evryone..haha,draw r even lost wil mkes evryone criticize us..cus we r a top team..thats why ppl expect us to b drop..they knw we r one of the best n europe..probably we even gud than barca..manu..mancity n evryteam..we jst need something special..guy like squid,djourou,chamakh,bendtner,denilson..that some dd nt wna play for us..so these player is such a waste..we cn b somethng that ppl wont expect too..wenger need someone to mkes us “invincible”again..yea the answer probably bring dein back..that wud mkes us even stronger..n ready to compete yet mayb another arsenal barca final in the champions league..beat manshity in semi final..bet manshity n quarter final of caling cup..mkes supdsy cry below us..damn ol that cud mkes a great feeling
we will finish stronger in the end cus we poor in the first..evry year we start great n finish low..so myb this gona b sumthng new. .hehe..goo goo gunnerzzzzzz!!
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Yes we didnt get the three points but on a more positive note we were very solid at the back with vermalaen back in.We are still top of the group in champs league so its not all doom and gloom.
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RVP Is awsome but we need tp get a nother striker involved at some point incase he get injured, i’m sure Park can adapt if we give him time.
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last year we gambled around this stage and came second thats when we met barca, when we could easily have secured top position to avoid other top teams,to me that is just crap! We are in a rich vein of form,what makes us blive it will last forever. We should have played rvp from the start,score some goals,pull him out then let park come in. As simple as that. If no goals still pull him out to rest him. By now we will be smiling about top spot and not qualifications. Overall park and chamakh are very good strikers and there need games to be in hot shape but that is wengers headache to look for the games not mine but we should have qualifed last nite.
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Agree with SVGunner and that is why his comment is ‘Top Gooner’ at the moment
Regular Match Fitness & Consistency is key for a Striker just as much as any other role,Lets use the main topic as an example,RVP;Even he took a while last year to get his shooting boots right & It applies to the majority of Strikers(including Chamakh & Park).
Referring back to SVGunner’s comment,Dont expect a player on he/she’s first game back from a lengthy spell of absence to instantly score a hat-trick or even a goal.They need time
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What the ….. The game is over, let it go, we’re all dissapointed a little by the goaless draw, I know I am, bt really isn’t there something better to talk about
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I support Wenger decision to rest RVP. The other strikers were given a chance to prove themselves and they didn’t. So its not about Wenger or Van Persie but the strikers that were fielded
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Yes i agree with wenger to have rested rvp.
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it would’ve been better if we had secured our place and then rested him for the final two games. How can we be sure he’ll come back from the international duty unscratched and the dutch coach will let him rest instead of using his full energy afterall he is in hot form? ( it’s always those meaningless friendlies that does the trick for our players. Remember walcott last season, and van persie season before that. Even vermaelen picked up his injury in his international duty)
yeah i know climbing up table is more important now but managing all the competition sensibly is also important.
It’s like resting him in a semifinal match so that he can stay fit for the final.
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AW WAS RITE TO REST RVP,ACTUALLY I THINK HE SHOULD OV RESTED HIM ALL GAME.RVP INJURY PRONE SO WE NEED TO BE CAREFULL ON HOW WE USE HIM ALSO PARK AND CHAMACK IF GIVEN TIME WILL START SCORING TOO.
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