Monday 1 December 2008
Van Persie Admit His Goal Was An Offside
Robin van Persie has long been touted as a world class talent, but too often injuries have hampered his progress and consistency. He has only ever been capable of occasional moments of brilliance.
An occasional moment was all it took yesterday, as within five minutes he netted two stunning strikes against Chelsea to turn the game at Stamford Bridge and consign the Blues to just their third league defeat at home in over four years - two of them courtesy of the Gunners.
However, this victory is tainted in the eyes of many - no less Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari - as van Persie's equalising goal looked to be a clear offside, after Salomon Kalou had earlier been denied by a questionable offside call against the Blues.
The Dutchman has acknowledged the officiating error, but believes these things work both ways. "I scored a goal against Chelsea [in a 2-0 home defeat in December 2005]," recalled the former Feyenoord man. "I was onside, but the ref gave it offside and it didn't count. This time was maybe a little bit offside, but it counted and that's all that matters.
"In the last 20 minutes we showed a lot of character so the whole team deserve a big compliment.
"When you are playing against Chelsea on their ground and go 1-0 down, you know it is going to be really difficult."
Arsenal remain seven points behind Chelsea, and Liverpool could go clear at the top, 10 points ahead of the Gunners, with a win over West Ham United this evening.
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