The Dutchman has struggled to hit his previous heights and is running out of time to show he is still good enough for Manchester United - though Stoke offer a shot at salvation
MNU
STO
By Ewan Roberts
The sense of relief around Old Trafford was palpable as Robin van Persie netted his first goal in four games, rifling an unstoppable, trademark left-footed drive into the top corner as Manchester United sauntered past Hull City on Saturday.
It was the performance that Louis van Gaal, and supporters, have been waiting for from a striker who had evoked the talismanic magnetism of Eric Cantona in his maiden campaign with the club, but who has struggled to live up to that billing more recently.
Van Persie’s malaise has been such that he was a major doubt to even start against Hull – one of Radamel Falcao, a constant fitness worry, or youngster James Wilson were expected to be preferred – but validated his selection with his first and only goal in the month of November.
"It was a beautiful goal," said his manager afterwards, "and I’m very happy because he needed that."
As the adage goes, form is temporary but class is permanent, and the Dutchman’s effort showed that his explosive, match-winning brilliance is still bubbling beneath the surface – though it remains to be seen whether his powerful strike marks a return to his pomp, or is merely a flash in the pan of a player on the decline, a reminder of a brilliance that was once routine but is now all too rare.
From scoring a goal every 98 minutes (or 0.91 goals per 90 minutes) at his most venomous in the 2010-11 season, Van Persie’s strike rate has fallen over time to one every 230 minutes (or 0.39 per 90 minutes) this season. Over that same period the number of shots he takes has almost halved, while his assist rate is down 75 per cent (from 0.36 per 90 minutes to just 0.09).
Van Gaal might have expected Van Persie’s last-minute equaliser against Chelsea at the tail-end of October to stir him back to life, but he never built upon that goal. Instead he drifted back to being ineffective and laboured once more, culminating in a singularly peripheral performance away to Arsenal. He can’t afford for the same thing to happen after his latest strike.
Fortunately for Van Persie, Tuesday night’s opponents Stoke City are a welcome adversary. The Netherlands international has scored 10 times in nine appearances against the Potters – there isn’t a current Premier League side against whom he is more prolific – hitting the back of the net, on average, every 65 minutes. He could not have picked a more perfect opportunity to turn his single, slump-ending strike at the weekend into the beginnings of a goalscoring streak.
And that is exactly what he must do if he is going to save his United career. Already the rumour mill is rife with speculation that this could be his final season at Old Trafford – Inter, now managed by Roberto Mancini, are the latest club to emerge as an apparent suitor – while a potential new contract, as revealed by Goal in November, feels more like a club trying to tie down the player’s re-sale potential rather than backing their man.
While Van Gaal is at the club, though, Van Persie is likely to be too, even though he was overlooked for the captaincy and must play second fiddle to Wayne Rooney. "I think he shall always play [under] me," said the veteran coach of his skipper, and it has increasingly become apparent that Van Gaal’s attack consists of Rooney-plus-one.
That could prove problematic for Van Persie, who has always had a rather uneasy partnership with the former Everton forward. Their relationship is not of the SAS variety, they do not dovetail naturally – the on-the-shoulder presence of Falcao is perhaps a better foil for the United captain – and Rooney’s goal on Saturday, set up by the Dutchman, was the first time since November 2013 that they have combined to score a league goal. Even then, Van Persie was crying for a return pass as his strike partner wrapped his foot around the ball.
That lay-off proved to be Van Persie’s first assist since March and it is notable how much his all-round game has diluted since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure; "the person it hit more than anyone was Robin," said Rio Ferdiniand of the effect the Scot's retirement had on the £22.5 million recruit.
In his first campaign at United, and at Arsenal previously, he was the go-to man in the final third, as capable of crafting chances as scoring them. He bagged nine assists in the 2011-12 season and averaged 26.8 passes per game, but that has dropped by 31% and now even David De Gea averages more passes.
The dramatic fall in shots per game, from 4.9 per 90 minutes in 2010/11 to just 2.7 now, hints at a player who no longer has the capacity to take responsibility. Previously he would try his luck from almost any angle, backing himself to score with the confidence only such a formidable goalscoring run (74 goals across three seasons) can imbue, but now there is a greater sense of caution.
Van Persie's efforts used to produce ecstasy more often than not; now they prompt ire from frustrated team-mates.
There is an increasing detachment and isolation to Van Persie’s game too, from fulcrum of the attack to spare part. The slow, nonchalant pace at which he plays the game, previously forgiven by his constant stream of goals and treated as a by-product of his genius when in-form, now looks more like a laziness that cannot be accommodated for all the while he isn’t scoring.
Away to Arsenal, in the type of heated game that would normally have the 31-year-old chomping at the bit, his presence barely registered. He completed just two successful passes in his 75 minutes on the field and touched the ball a mere 14 times.
There are only two instances of a United starter faring worse. Angel Di Maria at Hull City, injured after 14 minutes, and Luke Shaw at the Emirates, who lasted just two minutes longer than the Argentine before hobbling off.
Van Persie feels very much like a waning force, but Stoke’s visit offers the prospect of a resurgence. The Dutchman memorably netted against the Potters en route to the title two years ago, his embrace with Sir Alex on the sidelines underlining how they, as a duo, had singlehandedly dragged an average United side to glory.
Now Van Gaal must try to extract that same clinical touch and pulsating drive from his countryman, beginning against a foe he enjoys playing against.
Otherwise, Van Persie risks ending his United career prematurely, with just one - albeit majestic - season worth remembering.
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