Van Persie shows his class

One of the signs of a great striker is the ability to be ruthlessly clinical and score a goal with their first or only opportunity of a game.

Such ability allows a side to get points when they are not playing well, or when games are tight, and converting defeats into draws and draws into wins are the foundations by which trophy winning campaigns are built on.

That is why Robin van Persie is so valuable to Arsenal and coveted by some of the game’s biggest clubs.

The Dutchman has now scored 33 goals this calendar year, just three behind Alan Shearer’s record of 36. He is also unsurprisingly therefore one of the favourites in the premiership top scorer betting.

His winner on Saturday against Everton will surely be near the top of the list if those goals were sorted in terms of technical brilliance.

Up until the 70th minute Arsenal had struggled to break down a well organised and dogged Toffees side, who had even started to come out of their shell.

However, van Persie then showed stunning technical ability and skill to allow Alex Song’s chipped pass to go across his body before firing in a fizzing left-footed
volley that smashed into the far post and into the net.

It was the type of skill another legendary Dutchman – Marco van Basten – became famous for and if van Persie continues the way he is he will certainly find himself placed alongside the legendary former AC Milan and Ajax striker in the Holland half of fame.

The win send Arsenal back into the top four and if you bet on the Premier League the Gunners have suddenly emerged as an outsider after recovering from a horrific start to the season that culminated in that infamous 8-2 to Manchester United.

It seems unlikely that van Persie will be able to keep up this form for the entire season so Arsene Wenger will hope his other strikers can provide some support. But all successful sides need a talisman and van Persie is fitting that bill perfectly at present.

Arsenals Hard Work Has Paid Off In Champions League!

While the rest of the Premier League big guns are facing immense games in the Champions League this week, Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal team will be kicking back and relaxing in their final group game against Olympiakos. Sportsbook guardian betting certainly didn't expect this at the start of the season!

With Arsenal having qualified as the group winners already some gambling guardian offers are tipping them to go far in the competition! Wenger wont admit of course but he will be delighted with the situation and it will give him an opportunity to ring the changes and give some of his younger players some valuable experience.

Wenger loves to expose his youngsters to the big occasions and he will have complete belief in them getting a result. The atmosphere at Olympiakos will be sensational, so what a learning curve it will be if he does play his young players. If they manage to handle that kind of situation, they will be well prepared to manage similar situations in the future!

As good as this opportunity to play a young team will be, I think Wenger will be most pleased at the fact that he can rest some of his regular players and in particular Robin Van Persie!

Full credit to Wenger for taking the Champions League seriously! The likes of United, City and Chelsea could be guilty of taking their eye off the ball! United in particular have played weaker teams in crucial games and they could pay the price for it! Now Wenger will reap the rewards which could really benefit his squads Premiership campaign!

Arsene has already said it will be a catastrophe if Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United fail to qualify for the next phase and he's right! But at the same time it just goes to prove that the group stages of the Champions League isn't as easy as people think, and Arsene Wenger should be credited for once again taking his Arsenal team to the knock-out stages!