How Arsenal's Robin van Persie Can Make Premier League History on Sunday

There has been something wonderfully symmetric about this Arsenal season.

It started off rockier than the cliffs of Dover, kicked into a gear smoother than the clutch action for a Ferrari and then took yet another turn.

Those last three matches weren't exactly Arsenal at their best. But that makes the theme of chaos an apt one in regards to the Gunners' trajectory. The highs have been very high, the lows very low.

One thing has remained constant throughout; a rock amid the storm. It is so fitting that the team captain will have a part in weaving the final threads to this incredible patchwork quilt of a campaign.

Just as was the case on Dec. 31, when Robin van Persie headed into a match against Queens Park Rangers just two goals away from tying Alan Shearer's record for most Premier League goals in a calendar year (36), the Dutchman will trot out onto the Hawthorns pitch tomorrow to take on West Bromwich Albion with yet another chance at chipping away at that block of legend he is currently crafting.

Van Persie didn't equal Shearer's record on that night in December, although he did score the winner in a 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers.

That goal pushed him one ahead of Thierry Henry's club record of 34 goals in a calendar year—no small feat—but somehow you think there's no way he'll let history pass him by twice.

Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo share the record for most goals in a Premier League season, with 31. Van Persie sits at 30 after notching a brace last weekend against Norwich City, and while he will be more preoccupied with securing Arsenal third place—they sit just one point ahead of fourth-place Tottenham in the table—you feel that Shearer and Ronaldo will still be on his mind.

And what could be more perfect than the captain who so frequently saved Arsenal with his goals during this roller coaster of a season to make yet another indent on English footballing pageantry on the final match of 2011-12.

We don't know what van Persie's future holds—those rumors linking him to Juventus are growing awfully irksome—but we do know that the Dutch No. 10 will once again captivate us with his near-transcendent play.

It's an effect quite similar to one of his countrymen, who also wore that same number for the Gunners. Like Dennis Bergkamp, van Persie is phenomenal.

There is something wonderfully different, maybe unique, about the way van Persie plays the game. His brilliance is not the power of Ronaldo, the wending runs of Messi, or the pace of Rooney.

It combines something of all three, and results in perhaps the most wonderful player in world football. Some have scored more goals this season, and it's likely he will miss out on the best player awards in world football come December.

But few men have mattered more to their clubs. Few have such excellent songs sung about them.

So whatever happens during the 90 minutes on Sunday that will determine Arsenal's fortune, and perhaps the future of its captain—missing out on the Champions League would be a huge blow to hopes of retaining RVP—we can rest assured of one thing.

Van Persie will amaze us. He's done it all season.

So while we bite our nails, hurl insults at the TV and flat-out pray for Arsenal to get the job that needs doing done, we'll know that the club could not have a better man leading them.

Maybe that's enough. It is for me.