5 Arsenal players whose careers were cut short by injury

Robin van Persie

Van Persie was at times a one-man team

Arsenal fans might argue that Van Persie's time at the club was cut short by his decision to join Manchester United rather than injuries. It could not be argued that the Dutchman was one of the most injury-prone players at the club in his time.

'When fit, will score' were the words used to describe Van Persie for his brilliance in front of the goal while fighting his constant injury problems. Van Persie scored 96 goals for Arsenal in 194 appearances and he did this while almost always being out for some part of the season.

While his injury disruptions were regular since his initial years at the club, the 2009-10 and 2010-11 was particularly troublesome for the striker where he missed the majority of those campaigns. What followed though were the best couple of seasons in van Persie's career, where he first ended up as top scorer at Arsenal with 30 goals, then moved over to Man United to be their top scorer in a title-winning season.

While still considered to be one of the best strikers to have graced the Premier League, Van Persie displayed just what he could have accomplished in an injury free season. Arsenal might have had so much more had Van Persie managed more such seasons at the club.