Analysing Robin Van Persie's Performance vs. Arsenal

Robin van Persie entered the match against Arsenal under a lot of pressure, but he came through with a strong performance for Manchester United to help his side win 1-0.

Things have not gone well for United through the first 11 matches of the EPL season, and they entered Sunday's battle in eighth place in the table. A home contest against the first-place squad became a good chance for them to turn around the year and get some momentum going in their favor.

Of course, van Persie had an even bigger stake in this matchup. The former Arsenal player left for greener pastures a year ago, something that paid off with last year's league title. 

Despite the struggles from this season, his manager, David Moyes, claimed that his star has no regrets in leaving, according to ESPN. Even the vitriol from his former fans does not change his feelings at all.

He proved that by coming into the match with confidence and coming through with the only goal of the game. In the 27th minute, Wayne Rooney crossed a corner kick into the middle of the box, which van Persie headed into the back of the net.

Unsurprisingly, the forward had a big celebration after the score.

As Henry Winter of the Daily Telegraph points out, this was in reaction to some terrible chants directed at him:

Daniel Taylor of the Guardian compares the reaction to his match last season:

Arsenal appeared to be the better team for much of the contest, but they had serious trouble in the final third throughout the match. On the other hand, van Persie proved that he can get the ball in the back of the net if he is just given a chance. 

This has been his best skill for the past few seasons, and he has kept it up this year.

With the first-half score, he has now scored in four league matches in a row. If he keeps this up, Manchester United will once again find themselves near the top of the league table by the end of the year.

It is difficult playing against a former team in any sport, but it is even worse when the current opponent is the best in the league. However, RvP came through with a huge play and a solid overall game to help his squad on Sunday. 

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