Norwich vs. Arsenal: 6 Things the Gunners Learned at Carrow Road

At this point, the equation couldn't be any simpler: Two more goals for Robin van Persie equals three more points for Arsenal.

This time the victim was Norwich City. And this time, van Persie's goals translated into a 2-1 win for Arsenal at Carrow Road on Saturday.

Easy enough, right? Van Persie scores. Arsenal wins. North London smiles. Arsenal are back. Arsene knows (again). The Premiership stops laughing—and starts fearing.

Yep. Another day at the office for RvP.

Oh, yeah. Arsenal were pretty good too. In over 90 minutes, they created almost as many chances. If not for three goal-line clearances by Norwich in the first half, this game could have been a romp.

But Saturday was all about van Persie—just like this season for Arsenal is quickly turning into the Robin van Persie show.

Three months and 12 matches in, the plot is really getting interesting.

It's almost too much to imagine where it could go from here.

1. Robin Van Persie Is a Special, Special Player

This isn't news, of course.

From his earliest days at the club as a talented 20-year-old, Robin van Persie has always shown promise. Now 28, van Persie has turned that promise into magical performance after magical performance.

He scored two more goals Saturday, one a tap-in and the other other a cheeky lob in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.

On the first, his teammates did the hard work while he got himself in the right position. On the second, a nice pass placed van Persie in a position where his genius could be on full display.

And it was.

Those two strikes brought the total to 31 in the past calendar year for Arsenal's talismanic striker. Only four other players have done that in the Premier League era.

But what's perhaps more impressive—or distressing, depending on the way you look at it—is the fact that van Persie has either scored or assisted on 38 of Arsenal's 58 goals in 2011.

That means two things. First, van Persie's value is almost unmatched. Second, if he leaves, Arsenal will be in real trouble—perhaps more than after the dual departures of Cesc and Nasri this past summer.

It's no exaggeration to say Arsenal can't afford to lose Robin van Persie.

2. Arsenal Have Mental Fortitude

For an Arsene Wenger team, the value of such a quality is greater than you might think.

Wenger's teams always play attractive football. But since the season that the Invincibles did their thing, Arsenal haven't always shown fortitude.

On Saturday, though, they did.

After a breathtaking opening exchange in which Arsenal created a chance almost every time they touched the ball, Norwich took a shock lead through the hard work of Steve Morison—or the poor defending of Per Mertesacker.

Instead of getting frustrated (as they have so many times in previous seasons) or panicking (as they did earlier this season at Blackburn), Arsenal got down to business.

By the time they scored, 11 minutes after Morison's opener, the goal had seemed as inevitable as a Cristiano Ronaldo visit to the local madame. Norwich cleared off their line three times in the first half, but it didn't matter: Arsenal always had another goal in them, especially while Robin van Persie was on the pitch.

Now with their newfound fortitude in hand, Arsenal enter a stretch where they could do some serious damage. Already the owners of a five-game winning streak, the Gunners have home games against Fulham, Everton, Wolves and QPR before the New Year.

How they fare in those games could determine whether the crisis is really over. But the trip to Manchester City on Dec. 18 will tell us even more.

3. Per Mertesacker Has Issues

The issues: Mostly a matter of confidence.

Per Mertesacker, all 6'6" of him, got owned physically by Steve Morison (6'2", 187 pounds) on Norwich's goal.

Was Mertesacker waiting on Szczesny? Did he fall asleep? Did he really get pushed off the ball by a man much smaller than him?

The answers: Maybe, surely, definitely.

The conclusion: Inexcusable. Period.

Mertesacker has had three months to adjust to English football, and he's still making elementary errors. He needs to figure it out, fast, or his shortcomings will keep threatening to undo Arsenal's revival in the coming weeks.

On Saturday they had enough offense to overcome Mertesacker's latest error. But what happens when Robin van Persie can't score two goals in a match?

4. Laurent Koscielny Was a Rock at Right Back

Laurent Koscielny started at right back when Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson went out with injuries.

A center back by trade, Koscielny played well despite playing out of position. Norwich rarely created chances, and Koscielny did his part in that by keeping his side clean.

Such versatility is valuable to any team, but especially so for one that has the defensive frailties that Arsenal continue to show.

5. There's Plenty to Like About the Midfield

It's hard not to like the central midfield partnership of Alex Song and Mikel Arteta.

The two partnered up again Saturday in Arsenal's midfield. Once again, they powered the Arsenal engine with superb box-to-box play.

Song shut down Norwich's attacking midfielders with a customarily physical performance. He got into the attack with a beautiful pass to set up Robin van Persie's second goal.

Arteta linked the defense to the attackers. He cut out Norwich's attacks and contributed to Arsenal's. He had a few nice link-up plays and even took a strong shot in the second half.

Together, the two were immense. As part of the bigger whole of Arsenal's midfield, they were vital.

Song and Arteta formed the two bottom points on a W-shaped Arsenal midfield. The three upper points were filled by Gervinho and Theo Walcott on the wings and Aaron Ramsey in a withdrawn striker role.

The formation was brilliant and effective. With five players working fluidly in the midfield, van Persie had the room he needed to get into dangerous positions.

And we all know what happens when he gets there.

6. Gervinho Was Unlucky

The bad luck won't last.

It can't if Gervinho keeps playing the way he does.

Gervinho created several chances on Saturday. And then he missed several chances on Saturday.

The most glaring miss—and also the most impressive chance—came when he rounded the Norwich goalkeeper and then shot straight at the prone shot-stopper.

Gervinho should have scored, and he knew it. But he also must know that he's doing almost everything right.