LOYALTY

Number 1 fan my foot

Robin van Persie. A lot has been said about him already but this was a man who made me believe so much…that the world still has some good people, who despite the riches and fame that come with being a modern top flight footballer in a major league, maintained humility. As an Arsenal fan, I went through the expected cycle after his departure to Manchester United. It began with sheer shock that gradually turned into anger, resentment and finally into acceptance that the inevitable had happened. Arsenal’s captain, talisman and best player had signed up for our most bitter rivals in the name of his own words; a ‘lack of ambition’.

Arsenal's 'captain curse'

Arsenal made you.

Robin had arrived in England in 2004 from his former club Feyenoord amidst allegations of being an egocentric 21 year old who was selfish in play and plain hard-headed. Even his school records support this as he was constantly on the wrong side of the rules. Disagreements with his manager made him get minimum time on the pitch and at the end of the season, had him placed in the market for 5 million Sterling pounds. Arsenal captured him for half the priceJ! Nevertheless, his time of arrival in the North London club coincided with an era of unprecedented success; the era of the 'Invincibles'. This confined him to the bench for long periods of time as the likes of Henry and Bergkamp ran the show.

Who needs Robin when we have Podolskiiiii?!

Even when he began playing on a regular basis, you could tell he was immensely gifted but would go on to suffer from various injuries season after season. This cycle repeated itself and only in the 2011-12 season did he have a solid and injury-free season under his belt. Not only was he suffering on the physical front but Arsenal stood by him when rape allegations were levelled towards him in June, 2005. I do not know whether he had cheated on his Moroccan wife, Bouchra though he apologized in public for indecent behaviour towards a former Miss Holand-Nigeria. The rest as they say is history. I admired this man but I know he is no saint having seen him lose his temper on the pitch times a plenty.

Maybe Arsenal felt too ol' school than ol' Traff?

Among my DVD collections, one I intend to throw away, ‘RvP’s 100 goals’, the man speaks so loyally of the club that made him a household name and a world-class striker. He recalls the goal against Manchester United when Arsenal won the F.A cup back in 2005 in glee. Then he goes ahead claiming a 'boy in his tummy' always shouted for Man-U upon signing a deal worth millions with them. Strange you have to agree. He knows pretty well than a mere fan like me that you do not join a most fierce rival unless you are plain greedy or dumb. Well, I believe he is smart and left for the riches because he knows, just like anyone who knows football well that had he stayed behind, Arsenal has a better squad than United.

Au Revoir!

Sometimes I think that as much as money is good and we all should have ambition, we should not get over ourselves and even hurt people due to what even the Bible calls selfish ambition (Philippians 2:3). I do not hate RvP, neither will I deny that he is immensely gifted and most importantly will I really be engrossed with him anymore. So, BYE!!! And I hope you continue smiling every time United fans hail you a legend after years of calling you ‘rapist’.