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What is Robin van Persie’s role at Manchester United?

By Keegan Anderson

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Robin van Persie has been recovering from an ankle injury since Manchester United’s match against Swansea in February when he left the Liberty Stadium using crutches.

With the squad finally coming together in the most recent matches, upon his full return to health, van Persie will likely be forced to sit and watch from the bench.

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Patience has worn thin within the fan base, many calling for the Dutchman to be sold in the coming transfer window. Some supporters and pundits have gone as far as claiming that United are performing well because of his exclusion from the team. Whether or not RvP is at fault, United have been in fine fettle of late, winning the last four Premier League matches.

The midfield finally seems to on the same page as the attack, with midfielders Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata heavily involved going forward.

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Wayne Rooney has moved into the striker role in van Persie’s absence after spending some time earlier this season in midfield. The Englishman has capitalized on his playing time at his natural position, scoring three of United’s eight goals in the the last four Premier League matches, overtaking van Persie as the club’s top scorer in the process.

In the 4-3-3 that’s been working for the Red Devils, Rooney’s seemingly limitless stamina and pace, as well as his physicality, means the striker has been more of a distributor than a target man. Rooney loves to play through balls and layoffs to create chances for his teammates, having contributed six total chances in the four matches.

Unlike Rooney, van Persie likes to play as a target man. Rather than looking to set up the other players, the striker prefers to get on to the end of long balls or receive a ball at his feet and turn on goal. While that works fine in a two striker system, it’s problematic when only using one striker. The opposition’s defenders can key in on the striker, making it far more difficult to create enough space to turn and have a chance on goal. There’s more need to create one-two passes with the midfield in order to get behind the defence.

Unfortunately for the Dutch striker, that means having to constantly be on the move and dropping deeper to link up with the midfielders. At the age of 31, van Persie has less stamina and pace than ever before, though he never had much pace to begin with. We’ve already seen this have an effect on his form this season, having only scored 11 goals in 24 appearances at an average of 199 minutes per goal before the ankle injury. In many games, he’s been virtually non-existent, registering few touches and almost drifting rather than moving with purpose.

Following the match against Aston Villa this Saturday, United will face Manchester City and Chelsea. Having lost to City 1-0 and drawn 1-1 with Chelsea earlier in the season, the matches will be tight. That’s the situation where Rooney excels compared to van Persie. With crucial points on the line, it’s unlikely that van Gaal will opt to go with the riskier option in his fellow countryman.

Still, I’m not willing to give up on the striker entirely. He still has something to offer to the team, just maybe not in the form of starting as the lone striker. Should United find themselves down a goal or tied late in a game, van Persie could be utilized as a substitution around the 70th minute to add more attacking threat. His aeging hasn’t meant the decline of his clinical finishing, something that could be extremely useful in rescuing points.

This isn’t the same player as the one who essentially carried United to the title a couple of seasons ago, but he still has the technical ability to contribute. With his contract due to expire at the end of next season, van Persie may be battling for his personal future more than the club’s.

Next: Rooney: We must beat Aston Villa

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