Player Focus: Van Persie Enduring a Frustrating Season at United

Robin van Persie was far from his best on Saturday. He ambled around, seemed visibly frustrated and offered the perfect visual representation of Manchester United's season when running into Wayne Rooney, both ending up on the ground, as they challenged for a free-kick. He then probably should have received a second yellow card for a bad foul on Steven Reid.

Everybody, of course, is allowed a bad day, but coming so soon after the away fixture against Olympiakos when he produced another lifeless, irritable display, it's natural that the question should begin to be asked: is he still the player he was, is he disaffected with David Moyes, might any niggles with United drive him back to Arsenal?

The sense that all might not be right with Van Persie first emerged in the summer when questions were raised about Moyes's training methods. Van Persie has for years essentially managed his own fitness - a result of the regular injury problems he has suffered through his career - and there seemed to be an ongoing friction between how he felt he should be training and what he was being asked to do. It was the sort of story that at the time felt largely insignificant but that takes on greater importance in retrospect.

More recently, there was the post-match interview Van Persie gave to Dutch television after the Olympiakos defeat, in which he spoke of other United players operating in his space and blocking his runs. It was difficult to know quite how to take that: given the interest in the Dutch media in tactics, it could easily have been a straight answer to a straight question, rather than something intended as direct criticism of his team-mates, but such is the sense of anxiety at Old Trafford at the moment that it was immediately assumed to be an attack.

Van Persie's goals return remains impressive: 11 in 16 Premier League starts this season as opposed to 26 in 35 last. He managed eight assists last season and he's only made three so far this, but proportionally that is only a small drop-off. That, in fact, seemed generally to be the way of it: everything down slightly.

Shots per game have fallen from 3.7 to 3.1, pass success rate from 80.2% to 77.2%, passes per game from 26.9 to 20.1, key passes per game from 1.8 to 0.9, aerial duels won from 1.3 per game to 1.1 per game. This is the picture of a player who is not having a dreadful season by any means, but equally isn't hitting the same heights as last season. The only statistic of note that seems to have gone up - although not dramatically - is dribbles per game, up from 0.7 per game to 0.9. That might suggest a player becoming frustrated and trying to do much himself, but it's not a big enough increase to draw any firm conclusions.

Van Persie's relationship with Rooney is another issue, one highlighted by Van Persie's comment that team-mates keep running in his zones. They are far from a classical strike pairing, and frequently seem like two very good players who occupy the same part of the pitch rather than a partnership. This is not a new issue - each has provided two assists for the other to score this season; the same figures as they achieved over the whole of last season.

And then there's the wider point: are Van Persie's figures down simply because United are playing worse? To what extent is his poorer form responsible for United's struggles? It's probably both: that United's form has affected van Persie and that Van Persie is not sharp enough this season to drag them forwards.

The question then is why? Is it because, at 30, he is past his best? Is it because of underlying fitness and injury issues? Or is it just part of the wider malaise that has gripped the club? A serious decision will have to be made in the summer as to whether Van Persie will ever get back to his best.

Is Van Persie a worse player than he was last season or are his frustrations just getting the better of him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below