“Van Persie’s departure has helped our game” – Wenger

Arsene Wenger has admitted that the departure of Robin van Persie, may have helped his players mix up their style a bit. Arsenal were referred to as a ‘one-man’ team last season, as the Dutch striker scored 30 times in the league, to push the Gunners to a third-place finish, despite a disastrous start.


Wenger agrees that this was this case, as everything went through the 29-year-old.

“Sometimes an individual grows up and becomes the main charisma and carrier of the team and then people notice only him,” he said. “Robin van Persie scored 30 goals and when you score 30 goals everyone gives you the ball. That’s as simple as that. Our game at the moment is a little bit more diversified.

“We have a spirit, a desire to play together and the strength of depth. The vibes coming out are that we look like a real team and we enjoy to play together. That’s a good basis and is interesting.”

The Frenchman however, refuses to be carried away by their early form, that has seen them concede just one goal. He insists they would need to overcome tougher opponents, before the picture becomes clearer.

“I think we have a chance [to be title contenders],” he said. “We will know that after 10 games. We have the quality to do it but we have to show how much we want it.

“At the moment I don’t know how strong our opponents are. We’ve not played against any of the title contenders yet. It will be important to see how we do against the bigger teams.”