Robin van Persie super free kick

Robin van Persie super free kick

Robin van Persie has again taken the time to reflect on his winning free-kick against Sunderland at the Emirates last week and lamented the fact that for so long at set pieces he couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo.

The Dutch international has long been Arsenal’s chief candidate for all shots on goal from outside the box, but aside from a dodgy deflected effort scored on New Year’s day at Birmingham City, had spent much of the last ten months taking aim at members of the crowd or trying to kick balls out of various stadia.

Luckily, because he’s so damned awesome, RVP looks as though he’s finally found the necessary magic to turn Emirates groans into moments of celebration. Speaking to the Arsenal official matchday programme ahead of yesterday’s 3-1 win over Stoke City, the captain stated:

“Obviously it was a very nice feeling to score that free-kick and win the match. It was my first one for a while – in part I’ve been unlucky, hitting a couple of good efforts onto the woodwork in recent times, but partly I’ve not been good enough.

“I’d missed too many in the past few months and wasn’t happy about it – my shot is one of my strengths and I knew I could do better. I came close against Bolton a few weeks ago, so had a feeling I was getting closer, but the ball still needs to go in.”

Pay attention, here comes the science bit…

“Strangely, when you don’t really think about the end result I think you have a bigger chance. Everything needs to be in place when you’re taking a free-kick – every single step you make, your run-up, your body position, making sure you lean back a little but not too far otherwise your shot will fly over.

“It’s all like mathematics – it has to come together. If you’re out by even five per cent, it’ll go off target.

“It’s a very long way from putting the ball down to scoring – there are so many things to organise and do perfectly. Luckily everything came off and created a good moment for all of us.”