Robin van Persie's imminent arrival at Old Trafford answers a couple of questions, the two big ones that have been worrying Manchester United supporters all summer. Yes, the club is still ambitious and does not plan to sit back and let Manchester City have everything their own way. And yes, the Glazers do have some money to spend and are willing to let Sir Alex Ferguson invest a considerable amount of it in a player who played like a dream last season but at the age of 29 may not have a significant resale value.
Despite constantly complaining of not being able to find any value in the transfer market, Ferguson has now broken his self-imposed rule of looking only at players in their teens or early twenties, though the attractions of a proven goalscorer to a side who lost the title on goal difference last season are obvious.
Less clear is how Van Persie will fit into the United attack or, more accurately, which players will have to make way to accommodate him. The £23m capture from Arsenal will dash any hopes Dimitar Berbatov may have held of playing his way back into the side but United were more or less playing without Berbatov last season anyway. If Van Persie goes straight into the attack alongside Wayne Rooney, as one imagines he will, then his arrival is bound to impact on Danny Welbeck or Javier Hernández, or possibly both.
Ashley Young, last summer's big signing, may also be wondering where he fits into the scheme of things, especially with Tom Cleverley back to claim a midfield place. All depends on whether Ferguson is willing to use him as a wide player or not, but a more fundamental question is whether Van Persie goes into the United attack alongside Rooney or instead of him. United are not about to sell Rooney or relegate him to the bench but for a sustained period last season he was played in a far deeper-lying role than was usual, stationed on the half-way line at the behest of his manager and launching attacks rather than completing them.
It may be that Ferguson is willing to try Van Persie on his own up front, or possibly Van Persie and Welbeck as a partnership, with Rooney playing the sort of advanced midfield role that Paul Scholes used to excel at just behind them. If Rooney does drop back to midfield it is going to make it tough for Cleverley or Young, assuming that at least one of the wide places will go to Nani or Antonio Valencia.
Presumably Ferguson has a plan, for his admiration of Van Persie has been known for some time – as has his desire to introduce someone who can display composure in front of goal. The former Arsenal striker fits that bill perfectly and Ferguson will now be looking forward to making fewer flustered appearances after matches to observe bitterly that his side made enough chances to win six matches but failed to take any of them. United dominated a lot of games last season but either won them narrowly or were held to a draw when they had created enough scoring opportunities to win.
A striker with the poise and confidence to make his own chances and finish the ones created by others is possibly the final piece in Ferguson's jigsaw, although the manager thought he was getting the same type of player when he paid considerably more for Berbatov, only for the Bulgarian to struggle to replicate the form he had shown with Tottenham.
That will probably not happen with Van Persie, who has thus far shown no inclination to believe that no one understands or properly values him, and the only real worry for United is that he might become injured again. He was almost an invisible man for long periods at Arsenal, so regularly was he unavailable, and, though his form last season unquestionably established him as one of the most effective all-round strikers in the Premier League, the fact remains that it was just the one season and none of those that preceded it were quite as fluent or impressive.
With Van Persie and Rooney in the same side, wherever they end up playing, United fans can look forward to some spectacular goals this season. In fact the array of striking talent at the two Manchester clubs is more than some whole leagues have. Unfortunately both United and City have too many players for too few positions and an inability to move out strikers who are now surplus to requirements.
That is the least of Ferguson's worries. Tasked with competing with the noisy neighbours, he has made a solid start. Van Persie ticks all the right boxes. There may be doubts about how he fits in but most of the question marks over United's readiness for the new season have now disappeared.
Source: Paul Wilson, The Guardian on 15 Aug 12
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