Arsenal’s Robin van Persie is relishing the prospect of striking up a likely partnership with Marouane Chamakh at the Emirates next season. But, could these two be the front-line partnership to land Arsenal some silverware next season?
Van Persie believes, along with several other Arsenal players that, Chamakh will be a great addition to the squad. The Dutchman told the Sun newspaper of Chamakh:
‘He looks good, quite strong in the air and he scores lots of goals with his head.’
He adds:
‘Chamakh looks quite confident on the ball too, so hopefully it goes through as it is good for all of us to have competition.’
The gunners were pushing for the title last season, but faded away in the closing stages, eventually finishing third in the league.
Arsenal fans have been promised ‘top’ quality and experienced players by Wenger this summer, and Van Persie has also echoed their (the fans) pleas as well. The lethal striker feels that with some adjustments to the squad this summer, Arsenal could last the distance and potentially win the title. Speaking to the Sun, the Dutch international spoke of his team’s misfortunes last season:
‘When you look at our year, we have had really good periods and some bad periods. But we have been unlucky as well, so maybe we need a bit more depth in the squad. If you are unlucky with players who play in the central role, it is a killer for the team.’
The 27-year-old forward also explained how a number of injuries to key players spoilt their domestic and European dreams:
‘I have been injured, Cesc has been injured, Manuel Almunia has been in and out, Gallas too – and that is the spine of your team, which is very important. Maybe we can do something there, but you need to ask the boss.’
Wenger has already managed to acquire Marouane Chamakh from French side Bordeaux on a free. However, the question remains, will the partnership of Chamakh and Van Persie bring back the glory days to the North London club?
Van Persie had missed a lot of the previous season due to injury. The Dutchman only made 16 appearances in the premier league, but still managed to bag 9 goals (not a bad little record when you think about it). If he had been fully fit and playing week in week out, then possibly Arsenal could have ended up as champions this season, unfortunately we will never know.
A number of fans believe that Van Persie would have certainly been contesting the golden boot along with Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba if he managed to stay injury-free.
Arsenal fans will have to remain patient and give new arrival Chamakh time to adjust to the English game. The 26-year-old has been in decent form for Bordeaux this season in both domestic and European competition. He certainly knows how to header the ball and possesses bags of skill, just what Arsenal were missing last season.
Arsenal tallied a total of 83 goals in the premier league this season, begging the question, was it Arsenal’s strike force that cost them the championship?
Many fans will believe that the front line isn’t what needs fixing; instead they will feel that the problem lies within the back. There is no doubt that Wenger and the Arsenal fans will want to see some sort of silverware this season coming, regardless of what it is. It has just passed 5-6 years since they last saw a trophy and the team will be itching to break the curse which has hovered over them for so long.
Both Van Persie and Chamakh are of prime age, and look to be great strikers in their individual rights. They will both have a magician in Cesc Fabregas providing the service, as well as Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri who are also very creative. With a couple more signings and adjustments from Wenger, there will be no reason why Arsenal can’t pick up some silverware this season.
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