This is the moment after Robin van Persie scored the goal which dented Arsenal’s hopes of claiming a Champions League place —and you could see from his reaction that he still has feelings for his former club.
Van Persie, sold for £24million last summer, refused to celebrate as his goal from the penalty spot gave Manchester United a 1-1 draw at the Emirates yesterday.
He even looked up to the heavens as if to say, ‘What have I done?’
The Holland striker, who also scored in a 2-1 victory over the Gunners at Old Trafford in November, cancelled out Theo Walcott’s second-minute finish.
Van Persie endured a mixed reception from the stands on his return and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who instructed his team to form a guard of honour for champions United before the game, said: ‘Arsenal fans loved him, but this was disappointed love.
‘It has become a tradition in this country not to celebrate a goal against your old club and he respected that. I wouldn’t have been shocked if the guy celebrated because, internally, he is happy.
‘You want us to make a guard of honour and to respect the champions, but you have to accept as well that respect exists after the game.
‘You want to give everything for 90 minutes and after the game you can still talk to each other. He scored a penalty, but it’s not completely the same as scoring from open play. When you buy a goalscorer you look at how many they score from penalties, but he did take it well. Van Persie does a lot of things very well.’
Main man: Van Persie slotted home from the penalty spot to earn Manchester United a point
Change of side: Van Persie salutes the Manchester United fans after their draw with Arsenal
Wenger said the United striker, who has scored 25 Premier League goals this season, went to see his old Arsenal team-mates in the dressing room after the game. The Emirates boss said: ‘People who have played together for five or six years will fight — our defenders didn’t make life easy for him. We played with great commitment and our central defenders played well.
‘He went into our dressing room — maybe he is there because the food is better.’
The draw leaves Arsenal in fourth, two points ahead of Spurs, who have a game in hand. A top-four place will see Champions League football at Arsenal for a 16th successive season.
Wenger said: ‘There is no room for us to drop points. If we win our games I’m convinced we will be there, but the other teams will feel the same.’
No warm welcome: Arsenal made their feeling towards Van Persie clear
Sir Alex Ferguson was not happy with referee Phil Dowd after he booked five United players.
The United boss said: ‘In the first 20 minutes we were surprised at some of their aggression.
‘They set off at a fantastic pace and the referee just couldn’t keep up. When we have a foul he’s booked us right away. We have one of the best disciplinary records in the country.’
The FA, who fined Ferguson for criticising referee Alan Wiley’s fitness, may be interested in his latest comments.