Arsene Wenger in RVP denial to hurt Arsenal

Arsene Wenger must be living in a dream world of his own if he wants Arsenal fans to believe they can rise phoenix-like after the exit of Robin van Persie.

The Dutch star showed what the Gunners will be missing when he fired Manchester United to victory at Southampton with a hat-trick in only his second start for his newly adopted club.

Wenger could not conceal his envy when Van Persie made a dream debut at Old Trafford when he scored United's first with a trademark volley in the 3-2 win against Fulham.

Who would not miss the scorer of 37 goals in all competitions last season.

The Gunners must have been fretting after Van Persie-less Arsenal fired blanks in their opening two league games against Sunderland and Stoke City.

It must have come as a relief to him to see new-boys Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla break the duck against Liverpool.

So much so that the Frenchman believes they can bounce back stronger following the exit of Van Persie, though he stopped short of saying they could end a seven-year trophy drought.

“Are we better than last season? It’s too early but I’m confident we can build on that," Wenger was quoted in The Sun.

“We have things to work on and there’s a good potential. Look at our midfield. You’ve Arteta, Cazorla, Wilshere, Coquelin, Rosicky, Ramsey.

“There is a fight for the places but there is quality there. We had two games when you could feel some potential but maybe lacked a spark.

“But now we’ve come out of a game feeling we’ve had a good performance.”

He was particularly impressed with the performance of Spanish ace Cazorla and Abou Diaby.

Wenger said: “Everyone understands Cazorla wouldn’t take six months to settle in and Diaby is massive for us.”