RVP comes off the bench to bag 2 goals

By coming off the bench to secure a 3-1 victory over Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium, Robin van Persie emphasized his crucial role at Arsenal.

Although Gunners boss Arsene Wenger intended to give his top-scorer a rest for the Barclays Premier League fixture, he had no choice but to bring on the Dutch forward after Peter Crouch equalized following Gervinho’s initial goal.

Van Persie entered the game in the second half and quickly made an impact by scoring shortly after.

His second goal came just seven minutes before the final whistle, securing a third victory for Wenger’s squad within a week and propelling Arsenal into the seventh position.

Without Van Persie spearheading the attack, Wenger’s team struggled to generate opportunities.

Marouane Chamakh took over in Van Persie’s absence, but his closest attempt in the early moments was a header that went wide from Mikel Arteta’s corner kick.

Arteta also shot wide from long range, and Aaron Ramsey missed the target with a similar effort before the hosts opened the scoring with their first genuine opportunity.

The sequence that led to the 27th-minute goal began when Ryan Shawcross tackled Theo Walcott just outside the penalty area, allowing the ball to spill to Ramsey.

Ramsey delicately lobbed a pass over the Stoke defense, where Gervinho, who was onside, had the time to control it with his chest and place his shot beyond Asmir Begovic for his second goal since joining from Lille in France.

Nonetheless, Stoke demonstrated their fighting spirit as they sought to equalize, although Dean Whitehead received a yellow card when he collided with Arteta for the second time.

The leveling goal came in the 34th minute, exposing Arsenal’s recurring issue with set-pieces, even though they felt aggrieved by Laurent Koscielny’s foul call on Crouch.

Glenn Whelan delivered the free kick to the right side, Shawcross headed it across the goal, and after a goalmouth scramble, Crouch managed to flick the ball in following Jonathan Walters’ attempt.

This marked Crouch’s third goal in five games, leading to rising discontent among Arsenal supporters.

Immediately after the equalizer, the hosts believed they should have been awarded a penalty when Andy Wilkinson allegedly grappled with Chamakh, but referee Lee Mason kept the game flowing.

In the second half, Wilkinson was booked for fouling Walcott, but chances remained scarce, with Stoke removing Rory Delap for Salif Diao to tighten their midfield defense.

Van Persie entered the match in the 66th minute to influence the game’s direction, quickly making his presence felt.

The 28-year-old attempted to create an opportunity with a cross that was too high for Laurent Koscielny, and he also accused Shawcross of an elbow in an aerial duel.

Just nine minutes later, he found the net for his eighth of the season, as Arteta sent a ball out to Gervinho on the right.

Gervinho charged into the penalty area and pulled it back for Van Persie, whose shot deceived Begovic and slid into the near post.

Van Persie’s second goal was also set up by Gervinho, who again pulled the ball back, but despite Begovic getting a hand to it, he couldn’t stop it from crossing the line.

Buford Balony says: RVP is the best striker in the EPL. His record speaks for itself.

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