Robin van Persie or Falcao: Who should Van Gaal pick against Stoke?

An overcast afternoon, spellbinding chants from the Old Trafford faithful, key players returning from injuries (Marcos Rojo, Radamel Falcao) and the birthday of ‘Mr Manchester” a.k.a Ryan Giggs; the pre-match atmosphere had paved the way for a fascinating encounter at Old Trafford and the match which ensued was just pure dominance and magnificience exuded by Louis Van Gaal’s men, who have now won three matches on the bounce.

Three goals, a clean sheet and 76% possession of the ball weren’t the only positives from a fruitful afternoon at the Theatre Of Dreams for Van Gaal’s men.

Last season’s outcasts upping their mojo, encouraging performances by player’s like Herrera and Ashley Young coupled with the resurgence of ‘The Flying Dutchman’, Robin Van Persie were the most notable takeaways from the fixture.

Inspite of the team’s prodigious display on the pitch, Van Gaal voiced his apprehension over the festive period fixture pile-up.

He said, “I'm not happy but I cannot change it. I don’t agree with it because I don’t think that it is good for the players that they play another match within two days. In December, it shall be like that. We also have families. I also have a wife and kids and grandchildren and I cannot see them this Christmas. But I want to work in the Premier League, I have to adapt and I shall adapt. But I don’t think it is good for players, neither for the families."

Despite the jam-packed schedule of United, I don’t feel the Dutchman needs to worry as far as his team selection is concerned. Even though United have endured a staggering 41 injuries so far this season, the return of players from injury has come at the perfect time and, the set of promising youngsters they possess will help them in fielding a more-than-decent starting eleven.

Although, the selection dilemma which Louis Van Gaal faces is immense, especially when it comes to choosing the striker to lead the line for the Old Trafford outfit.

For all the stick Van Persie has been getting from supporters and pundits alike, the Dutch striker put in a performance which could probably resurrect his season. His movement in the match was sharper, his runs more purposeful and he played with a will to score, an element which was blatantly missing in the match against Arsenal.

However, the timing of his revitalization is questionable, given the fact that Colombian superstar Radamel Falcao is back and raring to go. The striker came on in the 70th minute and showcased a short but piquant display. He, like Van Persie, looked desperate to get that all important, morale boosting goal and nearly got one, had it not been for the heroics of Michael Dawson. In such a situation, whom should the Dutch tactician opt for? A look at the stats of both the strikers below might help.

	Appearances	Minutes	Goals	Assists
Robin Van Persie	12	993	4	1
Radamel Falcao	3	271	1	2

A detailed look of the statistics clearly shows how Falcao has superceeded Van Persie, inspite of playing 717 lesser minutes in comparison to the Dutchman. Louis Van Gaal has opted to play his compatriot at the expense of Falcao so far this season (even when he’s been fit) but there is absolutely no way the Dutchman can play Rooney, Van Persie and Falcao in the same eleven.

A decision has to be made and it looks like Van Persie is the one who is likely to get the cut. For a team which is aiming for a Champions League spot, which is so ambitious and which cannot afford another disastrous season, playing a striker who is in declination isn’t going to be the solution to their problems.

It’s not just goals which Van Persie has missed this season, it’s that zest, that driving force which kept him ticking and most importantly, self-belief. One can blame Van Persie’s deterioration to his poor relation with David Moyes last season.

Rio Ferdinand revealed that the news of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement hit Van Persie’s interests hard and had Van Gaal been appointed as manager of United last season, things could’ve been different for the former Arsenal captain.

As far as Falcao is concerned, it looks like he has completely recovered from that horrific cruciate ligament injury he had sustained and looks fitter than ever. His coruscating cameo against Steve Bruce's side was a testament to this and it finally looks like he’s waiting for the manager to give him his first start since returning from the calf injury which he sustained in training.

For the match against Stoke, Falcao leading the line will be more beneficial that Van Persie starting upfront simply because of the fact that the Colombian will be fresher than the Dutchman. At 31-years of age, starting two games in two days would be too much of a task for Van Persie and with Falcao returning from injury, this would be the perfect time for Van Gaal to give the former Atletico Madrid man the start he deserves.