Arsenal Player of the Month: November
Posted by Young'un in Arsenal, Premiership, Theo Walcott | 30 November 2011
Further improvement was on the menu in November, as Arsenal sealed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League and flirted with the possibility of being in the top four. Even if The Gunners remain in 7th place, things are looking far rosier than they did only a couple of months ago.
Robin van Persie’s outrageous form has led to the cynics describing Arsenal as a one-man team; an understandable if inaccurate conclusion considering how much he brings to the table. As the man himself has said, his goal record would not be nearly as impressive were it not for the likes of Gervinho and, in particular, Theo Walcott. The 22-year-old has so often been on the end of criticism; with pundits and sceptical fans alike pointing to his erratic decision making in the final third and lack of a genuine ‘football brain.’
He still flatters to deceive for his country, but Walcott has enjoyed a quietly consistent start to the season. His final ball has improved ten-fold; the delivery from wide is now accurate and penetrative. There is a definite aura of confidence about Walcott this year; even the negative kind in which he has barracked teammates and officials for wrong decisions. Although he must be wary of crossing the line into petulance, this new attitude is indicative of how he is grown; a far cry from the shy teenager who emerged onto the scene in 2006, and I for one welcome this more vocal version.
Elsewhere in the side, Thomas Vermaelen has returned and made telling contributions at both ends, as Gooners have come to expect from the Belgian International. In a nutshell, Arsenal are simply a much better team with Vermaelen in the side, and everyone will be hoping he can enjoy a sustained period of fitness. To his left on the pitch, Andre Santos has come on leaps and bounds after a shaky start and has established himself as first-choice and a genuine upgrade on the departed Gael Clichy. Alex Song is another contender for this month’s award with a serious of colossal performances in the middle of the park, particularly against Borussia Dortmund where he showed exquisite footwork to supply van Persie for a crucial goal. There were obviously many other factors, but it was no coincidence that Song was missing during Arsenal’s fragile period that included the infamous Old Trafford debacle.
Unsurprisingly, however, the skipper is the winner, for the second consecutive month. I am seriously running out of superlatives for Robin van Persie. It’s a struggle to say something that hasn’t already been said a hundred times. He is a truly world class player with an abundance of natural ability. His goalscoring record speaks for itself; unmatched by anybody in the country. Perhaps one aspect that came to light in November was the sheer variety of weapons in his arsenal. We all know how gifted he is with his left-foot, but van Persie has also scored headers and deft chips with his right-foot. His competence on his right side borders on ambidexterity, which can be said of only a handful of players.
As I said earlier, we are not a one-man team, that’s a childish accusation, but there is no denying we are over-reliant on Robin, in that I don’t know where the goals are going to come from should he go missing with Chamakh out of sorts and Gervinho having lost his shooting boots. I guess for now we should just enjoy watching a player at the very top of his game. For all we know, he might not be here this time next year.
October: Robin van Persie
September: Mikel Arteta
August: Wojciech Szczesny
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