It has been a stark contrast from life 12 months ago. Back then, Robin van Persie was at the epicentre of English transfer gossip. Luka Modric’s impending transfer to Real Madrid was rumbling on, but the sight of Arsenal losing yet another key player and captain made for easier headlines. Break out the broken crests.

This time around, the Dutchman has been well out of sight and clearly out of mind. Wayne Rooney is the biggest transfer story at Old Trafford. The will he, won’t he saga seems to be leaning on the former, despite David Moyes insisting that the player is not for sale. The isolated figure Rooney cut during Manchester United’s routine 4-1 win away to Swansea on the weekend offered more of an indicator than any quote announcing his decision to stay could.

Moreover, the club have been embroiled in a saga of trying to plug the gap in midfield, with many minor and not so minor storylines weighing in to form one big transfer escapade – and not really an enjoyable one either. David Moyes needs an extra body in the midfield, and it says as much following the club’s very public pursuit of Cesc Fabregas.

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Yet all the while van Persie has remained in the background, probably sharpening the blades ahead of the new Premier League campaign and ready to launch his personal attack on a third straight league scoring title.

We got our first reminder in the Community Shield against Wigan. Van Persie naturally got United going, eventually securing both goals in a 2-0 win. But such can be the languid mood surrounding England’s version of the Super Cup, it might as well be classed as preseason.

Instead, the brilliance came to the fore this past weekend, and this time with the world as his audience. The Dutchman was a class above as he launched himself into the air to rifle home United’s first. It was van Persie at his magnificent best, slightly greyer around the edges than the last time we saw him, but nevertheless the epitome of world-class forwards in English football.

What van Persie represents now, ironically, is an escape from the tedious and at times manic transfer window. Van Persie represents the level of footballer that justifies forking out forty quid for a match ticket, on top of all the other necessities. The agonising wait for the new season was made completely worth it when the Dutchman rifled in his second; a shimmy first and then a rocket that on any other day could probably have ripped the net off. You can’t buy that kind of quality. Well actually you can. And as van Persie finished the weekend on 58 league goals added to his tally over the past two seasons, the circa £25 million fee spent last year looked like an absolute steal.

I wrote last week that I believed this United team to be lacking, paling in comparison to the resources in the squads of Manchester City and Chelsea. But I confess I too was guilty of forgetting the obvious talents of van Persie. That’s not to say United can go at it with what they have, but rather that van Persie is so monumentally distinguished from every other striker among the other two clear title challengers – and that doesn’t take away from how good names like Sergio Aguero are – that it sort of makes up for inadequacies elsewhere.

The hope, or rather the theme of the prayer, is that the Dutchman doesn’t fall into one of those season-damaging injuries. Fortunately those days appear to be behind him following two seasons of clean health.

Van Persie’s display on the weekend was a wonderful reminder that football is back. For van Persie on a personal level, it was a showcase of why he is still the foremost player in the Premier League.

Can van Persie alone help United retain the Premier League title?

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