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ARSENAL: Head to Head: Van Persie v Drogba

/noticias.info/ By Mo Khan

Around the same time that Chelsea paid over £20 million for Didier Drogba in the summer of 2004, Arsenal bought Robin van Persie from Dutch side Feyenoord for a fraction of that fee. When their teams meet on Sunday, it will be time for the duo to prove their worth on the pitch.

Both strikers enjoyed good debut seasons in the Premiership. Van Persie scored eight times from 18 starts, including a super brace in the FA Cup Semi Final win over Blackburn Rovers. Drogba, meanwhile, was Chelsea’s lone striker for most of the campaign and scored some equally vital goals, including a stunning header at Bayern Munich as the Blues advanced to the Champions League Quarter-Finals. The Ivory Coast international ended his first season at the west London club with 10 league goals and 16 in all competitions.

But how have the pair fared so far this term?

Drogba, 27, has six goals from his 14 league appearances, scoring on average every 152 minutes. Van Persie, 22, has a slightly better strike rate, managing to hit the net every 150 minutes.

But of course Drogba plays as Chelsea’s main striker whereas Van Persie does not necessarily lead the line, often adopting a deeper-lying Bergkamp-esque role and getting involved in the team’s build-up play.

This season’s league statistics reveal that the pair are closely matched in most departments. Van Persie’s superior close control and ability to dribble with the ball is also reflected by the stats. The classy Arsenal man has a dribble success rate of 53 per cent compared to Drogba’s 35.

Van Persie (with 53 per cent) has a marginally superior passing success rate than Drogba (52) this season, but the Chelsea forward is better when tracking back to help out his defenders with a tackle success rate of 50 percent to Van Persie’s 44 per cent.

Messrs Wenger and Mourinho will have high hopes for their respective forwards when the two teams meet at Highbury. With Van Persie and Drogba in goalscoring mood this term, don’t be surprised if either man steals the show.

See Robin van Persie's player file

Robin Van Persie - Didier Drogba
12 Premiership Appearances 14
601 Minutes on pitch 909

Attacking
4 Goals 6
17 Shots on target 16
10 Shots off target 18
5 Shots blocked 3
1 Hit woodwork 0
5 Offside 19

Supporting
1 Assists 5
50 Passes made 49
29 Passes complete 28
21 Passes incomplete 21
1 Crosses successful 4
6 Crosses unsuccessful 8
17 Total dribbles 20
9 Dribbles successful 7
8 Dribbles unsuccessful 13

Defending
9 Tackles made 12
4 Tackles won 6
5 Tackles lost 6
2 Interceptions 4
0 Blocked Shots 1
3 Clearances 5
0 Penalties Conceded 0
0 Own Goals 0

Discipline
12 Fouls 20
1 Yellow Cards 4 notas_de_prensa_archivo