Arsenal and Robin Van Persie have been in fantastic form since September. Since the loss to Blackburn, Arsenal have won 13 out of 18 games in all competitions. RVP has featured in 14 of these games scoring 16 goals. While his form is great for Arsenal, the pessimist in us wonders what might happen should RVP get injured. iSporter Karan Mundul looks are Arsenal's options in case the captain is out of action
Chamakh will soon leave for the African cup of nations and Park is nowhere close to starting regularly in the Premier League. Arsene Wenger being the great manager that he is must have given this some thought and in all likelihood already has a back-up plan. A look within the Arsenal squad reveals the options Wenger has in attack for the remainder of this season and the near future.
Theo Walcott (Age 22)
Walcott is the most likely option to succeed RVP. This is partly down to the fact that he prefers playing through the centre and partly due to the rapid progress of Oxlade Chamberlain who looks ready for first team action. The thought of Theo and Chamberlain running at defenses provides plenty of hope for the future of Arsenal FC.
Benik Afobe (Age 18)
A product of the Arsenal Academy, Afobe is both strong and quick. After impressing on loan to Huddersfield Town last season (8 goals and 10 assists in 32 games) Afobe has been retained in the Arsenal first team this season. Barring pre-season games he hasn’t yet featured for Arsenal but he may still get his chance in 2012.
Sanchez Watt (Age 20)
Another product of the Arsenal Academy. Sanchez Watt has been part of the first team for the past 3 seasons featuring in the League Cup on 3 occasions. In between he has played on loan for Southend United, Leeds United and most recently Sheffield Wednesday.
Joel Campbell (Age 19)
If it wasn’t for work permit issues, Joel Campbell would be playing instead of Park at the Emirates. At such a young age, Joel Campbell is already the star performer for his country Costa Rica. Since his debut in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Campbell has featured in 9 games for his country scoring on 3 occasions. His last goal was in November in a friendly match against Spain.
Nicklas Bendtner (Age 23)
If it wasn’t for his attitude Nicklas Bendtner would be the firm favorite to be the back-up striker for Arsenal. Bendtner has played 153 games for the Arsenal first team scoring 44 goals. He has also played 45 games for his national side Denmark. He is currently on a season loan to Sunderland FC, primarily because no club wishes to match the 60,000 GBP per week wage that he gets from Arsenal. Bendtner’s future will be decided based on what he says rather than what he does.
Carlos Vela (Age 22)
The second most popular player to move from Guadalajara hasn’t lived up to his reputation at both club and country level. Since joining Arsenal in 2005 Vela has struggled to play regular football featuring just 63 times for the club. He has had loan spells in Salamanca, Osasuna, West Bromwich Albion and is currently in Real Sociedad.
Arsene Wenger is being forced to hang onto him in the hope that he shows his true potential whilst playing for Arsenal. The next 18 months are crucial for Vela’s career and Arsenal fans will hope he can produce many performances similar to his debut hat-trick against Sheffield United.
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