Robin van Persie’s poor performances should lead to James Wilson’s big chance

Robin van Persie has been a shadow of the player he was in his debut season, and another abysmal performance against his former side Arsenal pretty much summed up his season. In the 70-odd minutes that he played, the Dutchman touched the ball a mere 12 times [3 of which were corners] and only had one touch inside the Arsenal penalty area.

Now, tactics comes down to this in a big way. Van Persie is the type of striker who flourishes when played alone up front, but yesterday he lined up alongside Wayne Rooney in a 5-3-2 formation – meaning he had to make a lot of runs out wide rather than centrally. For me this hampered his game but he should’ve put in a much better performance nonetheless.

The 31-year old looked a little jaded and badly in need of a rest – heres where James Wilson comes into things. The young striker came on in Van Persie’s place yesterday, and he didn’t stop running. Full of energy, pace and ability, and for me he deserves a chance to start to prove exactly what he can do.

Louis van Gaal isn’t afraid of giving youngsters their big opportunities. Look at the likes of Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair. The old phrase ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ certainly rings true with our Dutch manager, and theres no doubt that Wilson will certainly get his chance if he keeps working hard.

United take on Hull at home next week and that was the fixture in which young Wilson burst onto the scene last season. Why not give him another chance, because at the end of the day, he cannot do any worse than Van Persie did yesterday. United sold Danny Welbeck to give the 19-year old striker opportunities like this, and if he does start he simply must grasp it with both hands.

Should Wilson start against Hull next week? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.

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About Jordan Street 19808 Articles
Mancunian. Red through and through. Season Ticket holder block E332.

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