𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗔𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝘁𝗱
Robin van Persie was shocked at the difference in professionalism between Manchester United and Arsenal, according to Patrice Evra.
The Dutch forward spent eight years with the Gunners where he became their eighth-top goalscorer with 132 strikes, before shocking fans by revealing his plans to leave the club at the end of his contract.
Van Persie made quite an impression after moving to United in 2012
Worried about losing their star man for nothing, Arsenal completed a deal to sell Van Persie to Manchester United in the summer of 2012 for £24million, scoring 58 goals in 105 appearances.
After winning just a single FA Cup during his time with Arsenal, the forward won the Premier League title in his first year at Old Trafford, something that he may have credited to the superior work rate within the squad at the time.
He previously spent eight years with Arsenal but only had an FA Cup to show for it
Evra told Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five YouTube channel: “Robin, he’d say, ‘Patrice, I’ve never seen people so professional. Training the way you’re training in the training session’.
‘”He’d say he’d finish the training session, everyone is in the gym. Before training in the gym, after training in the gym.
‘”That’s why he was like, ‘when I was playing at Arsenal, I was still on the pitch and I’d see kids with convertible cars already going to Harrods or whatever’.”
While Evra admits that he’s agrees with Van Persie’s recollection about the work rate within the Man United squad, he did reveal that Sir Alex Ferguson took special measures to ensure the Dutch star was ready and raring to go on a matchday.
Sir Alex knew exactly how to get the best from Van Persie
Speaking to Ferdinand, he said: “I don’t know if you remember, the way Ferguson managed Van Persie.
“He knows we are animals, if someone doesn’t train we are going to say he doesn’t deserve to play.
“But with Van Persie he said, ‘guys, this guy he won’t (be) training every day. Sometimes he’s going to be on the side training with his own physio. But I have to manage his injury. But this guy is going to win the league for us.”
