Arsenal captain Robin van Persie believes that fellow forward Theo Walcott is capable of giving a goal return of 20+ each season and asks the club’s fans to be patient with the 22 year old. Walcott has been a mixed bag this season, already having started more games than he has ever done previously, but yet having a goal return of only 6.
However, Walcott has been instrumental in Arsenal’s forward play and his three assists in the 7-1 rout of Blackburn at the weekend suggest that one needs to look beyond goals scored to assess the player’s worth.
Speaking out in support of Walcott, Van Persie said, “I don’t understand the criticism. On Saturday he gave three very clear assists, two for me and one for Alex. He was sharp, he was playing fantastically and, like anyone, he misses chances. But I miss chances. Ronaldo misses chances, Messi misses chances. It’s life, you know. Sometimes I feel that people are a bit harsh on him. I don’t know why. If you look at his assists rate then it is unbelievable.”
Van Persie has been in blistering form this season, and believes that the credit for his success lies with the men who are getting the ball to him in such good positions to score. RVP has 22 goals in 24 Premier League games this campaign and a return of 28 goals in all competitions.
Speaking about Walcott’s contribution Van Persie said, “For me, if you give an assist then it is worth a goal, especially if you give a great assist. It is as important as scoring a goal. For me he gave two simple tap-ins. That makes it more his goal than my goal.”
