The last time Robin Van Persie played a Manchester United vs Arsenal game at Old Trafford, he was on the receiving end of an 8-2 hammering, but come Saturday, the English Premier League will witness the prolific Dutchman playing for the club that defeated him comprehensively while locking horns with the club that he called his own for eight years.
Whatever one might want to say in the lead up to the big game of the weekend, the focus will be on one man and one man alone. Van Persie will not exactly welcome it, but, as he always does, will put his head down and go about his business on the pitch, something he is extremely good at -- as every Arsenal fan will, now grudgingly, attest to, and every Manchester United supporter is starting to see.
Arsenal have moved on to a certain extent from the Van Persie exit. The team's identity is a lot different. There is no relying on one man to turn the game around for you time and again - that baton ironically has been passed to United, with Sir Alex Ferguson's team at times heavily relying on the Dutchman's prowess up front - be it to score goals or create them.
There is no doubting the fact that United would not be just one point adrift of league leaders Chelsea, if Van Persie was not in their team - perfectly encapsulated by the 29-year-old's performance in the controversial 3-2 win over Chelsea last weekend. Van Persie had a major hand in all three of United's goals, scoring one, forcing an own goal from the other and seeing his strike which rebounded off the post, eventually turned in by Javier Hernandez.
Van Persie will not be looking forward to playing against Arsenal; whatever might be said if the move in the summer, he has way too much respect for his old club, and in particular the manager Arsene Wenger. In large parts, the Dutchman's performance might depend on the response he gets from Arsenal fans - boo him too much and it might charge him up, while a fairly muted response, which is highly unlikely to happen, might leave the striker a little surprised and with it a little lost.
Sir Alex Ferguson will want his team to concentrate on the job at hand, which is to get all three points and stay among the frontrunners. Wenger, on the other hand, as much as he likes to deny it, will be charged up for the match. The pre-match speech will have a mention or two of Van Persie and about showing the Dutchman he made a mistake in leaving Arsenal.
The Gunners will also be helped by the fact that several of the current Arsenal players were not involved in the 8-2 mauling. A lot of them were injured, while the likes of Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla only joined in the summer.
Arsenal's midweek League Cup game against Reading, where they won 7-5 from being 4-0 down, showed the fighting spirit within the team -- the desire to be better and never give up - incidentally, words Ferguson's teams live by.
There is no doubt about the fact that Arsenal are a better rounded team this year than last, but there is also no doubt about the fact that the Gunners miss Van Persie - it is impossible not to miss someone so good.
However, Arsenal now have a few trump cards up their sleeve - Cazorla has been a revelation since joining the Gunners and his ability and guile will be key to the game. Another player who could decide the match in Arsenal's favor is Jack Wilshere. The youngster made his comeback from nearly 17 months out of the game, in stirring fashion against Queens Park Rangers, and the diminutive playmaker, being a Gooner, will be as raring to go as any player.
Arsenal do not have too many new injury worries, with Gervinho ruled out for two weeks, and the likes of Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs and Abou Diaby still not fit enough.
United, like Arsenal, rested their key players for the League Cup defeat to Chelsea, meaning the likes of Van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand are sure to be fresh for what promises to be an enthralling game.
Expected lineups: Manchester United: De Gea, Evra, Ferdinand, Evans, Rafael, Carrick, Cleverley, Young, Valencia, Rooney, Van Persie.
Arsenal: Mannone, Santos, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Sagna, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Giroud.
Prediction: 2-2
