Maybe if RVP could have kept himself fit for at least a season he may achieved more at Arsenal when they had a better side. He has one injury free season and then has had enough. Brilliant
That would be great if true, but a it's not, at all.
First year started 18 games, subbed into 23 more. Second year he started 21 games, subbed into 17, third season he started 25 and subbed into 6 more, with another 7 starts and 1 sub for Holland.
That's his first 3 seasons, playing in 41/38/39 games, he was second highest scorer in his second season but Wenger had randomly bought Hleb(utter crap) and Adebayor half way through the season, both of whom took games off RVP.
Should we also forget how RVP's foot issues started, someone stamped on his foot breaking a bone, Wenger saw fit to start him for the next 3 games anyway before finally resting him.
He has had too many injuries, most were completely mismanaged by the club, almost all of the big injuries were sustained in bad tackles, stamp on the foot, knee knacked by a tackle on international duty, ankle knacked in a tackle, two of his biggest injuries, first broken foot which they played him on after, and the ankle which they let him go to a god damned witch doctor while his injury became much worse, were Arsenal's fault, not his.
Of 8 seasons at Arsenal he's played in 41/38/39/25/60/44/55 games. So he's only had a single season below 30 games, he's averaged(rounded to nearest whole number 38 games a season.
HIs injuries were mostly lengthened by Arsenal's treatment as were so many other players at Arsenal and if we stopped wasting years of him playing in the CC/FA cup and playing others ahead of him, he'd have both played more and the team would have done more.
Realistically the 25 game season is the one and only heavily injury hit season as the 3 years before that were more about not being first team.
The reason we didn't win stuff was shunning Reyes/PIres for the absolutely inept Hleb for years, playing a lazy team morale destroying, hated Adebayor, refusing to put a proper defence together, significantly changing his tactics.
RVP isn't slightly responsible for Arsenal not winning anything. The reason he wants out is we could and should have won cups and titles in the past 8 years but the decisions that cost us, pushing out Reyes/Pires for Hleb, favouring Adebayor, Song, Diaby, Denilson while letting excellent players leave(almost all of whom have gone on to win things or perform well at their new clubs). This is continuing replacing the replacements of the replacements so far this transfer window, while failing to actually get rid of the crap players.
