Well it had to happen didn’t it? Van Persie had been fit for far too long and was playing far too well for things to continue, and now things are looking very shaky. I think we all feared the dependence on him, but now that he’s out we’ll get to see just how pivotal to our successes he really is.

I, for one, am optimistic. It’s clearly not great to be facing a run of games, including Chelsea and probably Liverpool without our two most obvious lone front men, but Eduardo has been afforded a gentle re-introduction to things and he is more than capable of being the central focus to our four man (sometimes five man) attack.

And that’s the thing to remember. We’re not United, or Liverpool, who rely on their strikers for goals, we even put Chelsea’s scoring potential to shame. We are a team who have been successful this year because we have found goals from everywhere. Van Persie was massively influential in bringing those goals about but we’ve been playing without a settled right winger and a moody Russian guy on the left and still scored for fun. Eduardo, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky and Cesc have got more than enough talent to keep the opposition on their toes and hanging back.

That being said, of course, we will clearly miss one of the world’s greatest players. And even with the attacking threats already mentioned there will be a bigger onus on not conceding so much. Previously I have suggested a cure for this and I’m sticking to it: simply ask whoever’s playing in the Diaby role to play more conservatively. Diaby, Denilson and Ramsey all have it in them to create an effective barrier with Song while breaking late to provide support up front if necessary. If we do this, and come through November and December relatively unscathed then I believe the squad will not want for self-belief, which could prove vital as the season gets really interesting. Who knows, in the long run this might be good for us?

Two final points have just come to me. The first is the mystery surrounding Carlos Vela. Does anyone know what’s happened here? Is he injured, does he have an attitude problem or does Wenger just not think he’s good enough? Alternatively, can he use this paucity of out and out attackers to burst onto the scene? Finally, if Fergie can spend a career getting Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes et al to pull out of troublesome internationals, why not Wenger? He clearly hates having to give his players up so why doesn’t he bite the bullet and tell his most influential players that they’re not going. In Van Persie’s case, this is especially relevant. While Cesc might want to prove himself worthy of a starting role, and Arshavin has a play-off to win, Van Persie had nothing to prove and nothing to gain in Italy at the weekend.