Written by Shahan Ahmed
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Robin Van Persie & Manchester United vs Arsenal

“You’d 8-2 be Arsene Wenger this morning.” Street vendors, news broadcasts, and everyday people across England joked after last year’s Arsenal versus Manchester United match at Old Trafford. Arsenal supporters, management, and players were publicly embarrassed at the hands of the Red Devils. That match resulted in Arsenal offering the 3,000 travelling Arsenal supporters a free ticket to a different away fixture. It was at that moment that Arsene Wenger finally gave into mounting pressure and paid for the likes of Per Mertesaker and Mikel Arteta to join the a recently ravaged London club.

Although the club worked to right the embarrassment for the travelling fans on the day, some of the travelling players may never have recovered from such a thrashing—namely, Robin Van Persie. Van Persie missed a penalty on the day, a penalty which would have leveled the score in the 27th minute. The Dutch striker did finally score in the 74th minute, but United had already scored 6 at that point. When the final whistle blew, the score read United 8, Arsenal 2: “You’d 8-2 be a Gunners fan.”

By the time the season ended, Robin Van Persie decided he’d 8-2 be a Gunner any longer, and he joined the team that provided him the greatest embarrassment of his professional career: Manchester United. As a Red Devil, Van Persie has been the most valuable player on the team, without a doubt. The Dutchman has 10 goals in 12 matches across all competitions for Manchester United. He also has 3 assists, and his production has United within 1 point of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

United is top in the Premiership with 24 goals in 9 contests. Van Persie is joint-leader in the Premier League with 7 goals in 9 matches. Wayne Rooney’s 4 assists are joint-third in the Premiership, and the Red Devils have the most potent attack in England—maybe all of Europe. Since a 1-0 opening day loss to Everton, United has scored in every match this season, and the Red Devils have scored at least twice in every Premier League match.

With Arsenal having allowed a league-best 6 goals this season, the best defense in England comes up against the best offense this weekend. Oh, and as a minor side note, RVP faces Arsene Wenger and his old pals for the first time since swearing his allegiance to Fergie and the Red Devils. This should be a good one, and waiting for Van Persie’s reaction if he scores should be enough drama to keep eyes glued to the screen for the full 90.

Director’s Picks: Premiership Round 10

Our Director of European Football is 11-9 this season with +420 units of profit. He put up an impressive mark of 57-34 last season with +3,486 units of profit last season. To see his Premiership pick on this week’s Everton vs Fulham match
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Also, check out my Serie A Pick & preview for the Derby d'Italia between Juve and Inter