Arsenal: With or without RVP?

The Arsenal blog sphere has suddenly erupted on the news that RVP won’t be extending his current contract. He made public his views through his personal website and in it also tacitly remarked that this Arsenal team will not be able to challenge for trophies anytime soon. Therefore, staring at the final frontier of his eventful career he would like to move to clubs where there is a realistic possibility for trophies (success). While many fans agree with this reasoning I don’t buy it.

As an Arsenal fan, and having watched RVP come good through lengthy periods on the treatment table, I feel it would have been a strong statement from the lad had he decided to play on for the Gunners and help the club win major trophies. But perhaps I am too old school to think that way.

Actually, I had this eerie feeling that something ugly was brewing when there was no joint statement made after his meeting with Gazidis and Wenger before the Euros. It was all kept hush and swept aside on the pretext of the tournament. Now we find what pretty much had transpired then.

Anyway, without pondering over dead matter, I would like to see what it means for the club with or without RVP. With him in the side, Arsenal will continue to be a potent attacking force and together with Podolski and Giroud the team will be more lethal up front. These three can also be made a unit with RVP dropping deep to build attacks which would strengthen Arsenal’s collective style of play and add an element of surprise. Also one must remember that RVP had provided good leadership last season which many pundits suggest is one of Arsenal’s weak points.

So with him we also will have a leader that others admire and would want to play for. The difficult question now is what if he leaves? I feel, Arsenal will continue to be a strong attacking side but the formations and patterns will change. Neither Podolski nor Giroud are similar in type as RVP. So there will be some tinkering required to pair the two together to form a unit. A similar exercise was done in the midfield when Cesc departed in 2011. The attacking focal point will be different and Arsenal can line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Giroud at the top. The success of it though will depend on how quickly the Frenchman finds his feet in the Premier League, the shorter his bedding in period the better.

As an alternative, I wouldn’t mind sticking with Bendtner. He can hold the ball up and bring others into play, something Chamakh has failed to do when given a chance. With this line-up the team will also have the option of playing long balls through the middle that had been missing during the previous seasons. This variety could be the key for Arsenal’s attacking strength and the team’s quest for glory.

Finally, I feel sorry for the club to be in this state after such a promising start to the summer. But with or without RVP, Arsenal will be a stronger team this season. Good players come and go but the true legend that is Arsenal will continue its march forward and I wouldn’t be surprised if the club remains top of the table until early next year riding on a good start. So fellow fans come along and back the team, remember even dark clouds have a silver lining.

COYG!

Calling all Arsenal fans: Do you agree with Shub's positive outlook on the Gunners? Would Arsenal be a better team without RVP? Can they still challenge for honours? Whatever your view, we'd love to hear from you.