Arsène Wenger's decision to hand the striker the armband has given Arsenal the kind of leadership not seen since 2005
Robin van Persie might not have been everybody's idea of a captain when Arsène Wenger announced in pre-season, after the sale of Cesc Fábregas, that the armband he had passed around so flippantly to Lukasz Fabianski, Sébastien Squillaci and Johan Djourou would be given to an injury prone No 10.
As it turns out, not only is Van Persie Arsenal's supreme scorer this season but he has displayed the kind of leadership that suggests he is the most natural captain the club has had since Patrick Vieira. In his actions, his equalising goal and his at times overwrought emotions as he displayed contempt for the time-wasting of Tim Krul, he set the tone which has summed up his team of late. They are not prepared to be pushovers any more.
Where not so long ago questions were rightly asked about the fragility of the team and mere mention of Wenger's catchphrase about "mental strength" was enough to make Arsenal supporters feel like banging their heads against the nearest brick wall, now few would argue with Thomas Vermaelen's assertion that they have the "mentality of fighters".
Vermaelen's theatrically timed matchwinner, bustled in as the sands disappeared in five minutes of stoppage time, set a Premier League record. With it Arsenal became the first team to win from a losing position on four consecutive occasions. In three of those games – at Sunderland, Liverpool and now at home to a resilient and effective Newcastle – the turnaround was sealed in the 90th minute or later.
Add the comeback of sorts that they mustered against Milan in the Champions League, coming to within a goal of clawing back a 4-0 deficit, and the evidence is quite striking that something profound has changed in the personality of a side who seemed doomed on more than one occasion this season. The wind in Arsenal's sails is gusting strong.
This is the second time during a turbulent campaign that they have dragged themselves back from depression. After the recovery from a dismal start summed up by the stomach churning defeats at Old Trafford and Ewood Park, Arsenal went backwards again with a lean January. In a run that was the polar opposite to what they are experiencing now, they squandered winning positions against Fulham and Swansea and lost. Then they fought against Manchester United and lost. That match remains symbolic this season for the moment Wenger was rudely challenged by the Emirates crowd for hauling off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Andrey Arshavin. It felt like the end of something. Who could have imagined it might be a watershed from which Arsenal could forge a brave beginning?
They have gone from mutiny to exhilaration, from bleakness to hopeful anticipation that Arsenal can finish the season strongly for the first time in a while and hurdle Tottenham into a third-placed finish which would be something of a miracle considering the black ice they have skated over this season.
It speaks volumes for their newly forged character that Newcastle's opening goal, taken skilfully by Hatem Ben Arfa, did not disrupt Arsenal's "relentlessness", as Wenger described it, for a second.
They withstood that body blow and quickly jabbed their way back off the ropes. That it was Van Persie at the heart of it was only what this crowd have come to expect. When the ball came his way less than a minute after Wojciech Szczesny had fetched it out of Arsenal's net, the master marksman coerced it past Mike Williamson with absolute determination to give himself the chance to drive past Krul.
His body language spoke volumes. His response to Arsenal conceding a goal was rooted as much in raw determination as the talent that has brought him an avalanche of goals this season. Van Persie's influence in the dressing room is hugely significant. He is by nature a very positive thinker and, as Wenger puts it, a "football fanatic" whose knowledge of and fascination for the game make him a person you want to listen to.
Wenger has always been of the opinion that a team has many leaders, that the armband itself is not the most significant thing in the world. It was symbolic, then, that one of the team's other big leaders came up with the goal that keeps Arsenal's momentum rolling. Vermaelen's partnership with the team's most improved player, Laurent Koscielny, has been a feature of this revival. The team's backbone has been hardened by the return of a more balanced back four, with Bacary Sagna's reappearance in the first of the four comeback games also hugely important.
The timing of the stoppage-time winner was a bitter pill for Newcastle, who have showed they have developed spirit of their own in this season of the unexpected. Ultimately, though, it was not enough to send galvanised Arsenal off course.
Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 13 Mar 12
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