Persian Algebra

So obviously the big news in the papers today is all about the signing of Van Persie, but first we'll spare a thought for our other signing yesterday, Angelo Henriquez, who had this to say on completing his medical:

"I am super happy to get to Manchester United. I'm fulfilling a dream," he said.

"I am going where I wanted.

"You look on television and see the outstanding players, scoring spectacular goals. I cannot waste this opportunity.

"It is not clear what will happen with my future.

"I want to play in the first team of Manchester United. That's my first thought.

"If they decide to send me on loan, I would prefer to continue at Universidad, although I will do whatever United deem appropriate."

 Now on to the main meal, and The Sun were right:

As SunSport said on Tuesday, boss Fergie hoped to complete the transfer before the big kick-off this weekend.

Yes, they were the only paper saying that, kudos to The Sun.  They seem to have another exclusive story - Rooney follows van Persie on Twitter..

Carrick commented on the signing after the England game:

He said: 'Someone mentioned in the dressing room about Van Persie and if it goes through, it will be brilliant.

'He had a terrific season and he will further strengthen our squad. It is a great boost going into the new season.

'He is a world class player and we have always been about bringing in players of that ability.

'Can it make the difference between second and first? There wasn't much difference so hopefully we can go that step further!

'But the club has always had strength in depth and it is about the squad and not the 11 on the pitch.'

The Telegraph very kindly rounds up Twitter's reaction.

The Independent have a potted history of the move, and answer the question - who was the last person to make the move from Arsenal to Man Utd?

Van Persie will become the first player to move directly to Old Trafford from Arsenal since Viv Anderson made the same switch 25 years ago.

Onto the opinions, and Mark Ogden in The Telegraph wonders how Rooney and van Persi will play together.  He's not sitting on the fence at all when he says it could go either way:

Rooney and Van Persie could form as formidable a partnership as Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, a combination crucial to United’s Treble success in 1999. Similarly, Rooney and Van Persie possess the potential to provide United with the two-man strike-force that enabled United to win the Champions League in 2008. But the potential flip side to Sir Alex Ferguson’s plan would involve Van Persie failing to dovetail with Rooney, who has rarely looked at ease alongside his previous strike partners.

The Manchester Evening News, like many others, points to the excitement of the signing, proving we're still on the map:

Those travelling fans inside Goodison Park, full of voice on any away trip, will roar just a little louder knowing that, with Van Persie on board, City won’t have it all their own way in the title race this season. They haven’t in their pursuit of Van Persie.

It’s excitement that has been missing since they watched Dimitar Berbatov chatting to David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson through the plate glass windows above the Old Trafford Megastore on a manic deadline day four years’ ago.

Since that £30.75m outlay, Fergie has tried and failed to land David Villa, Karim Benzema, Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri. In have come highly-rated youngsters Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez, Phil Jones and David De Gea but the world-class signing, once an annual occurrence, has been missing. Until now.

Paul Wilson on The Guardian blog makes a similar point:

Robin van Persie's imminent arrival at Old Trafford answers a couple of questions, the two big ones that have been worrying Manchester United supporters all summer. Yes, the club is still ambitious and does not plan to sit back and let Manchester City have everything their own way. And yes, the Glazers do have some money to spend and are willing to let Sir Alex Ferguson invest a considerable amount of it in a player who played like a dream last season but at the age of 29 may not have a significant resale value.

But in the following piece on where he'll fit into the team and the midfield reshuffle it'll need, seems to have forgotten the signing of Kagawa, who doesn't get a mention in the entire article.

A quick nod in the direction of Arsenal and why they can't be too disappointed:

Besides, is it really that much of a crisis? £20m-plus for a 29-year-old with a shaky injury history, replaced by three younger international attackers, does not sound such a terrible piece of business.

Elsewhere, Carrick and Cleverley both impressed for England last night.  Oliver Holt in The Mirror has high praise for Cleverley:

Cleverley always wanted the ball. He always showed for it, too, and he was a constant source of creativity.

In this mood, he is what England have been missing, ­technically accomplished and ­confident enough to move the ball around swiftly.

He was a big part of the reason why England looked ­significantly improved compared to their performances in the Euros.

Dominic Fifield in The Guardian praises Cleverley but lets himself down by saying Carrick needs to be more "dynamic" while at the same time saying he's what England have been missing - someone who can pass. I think what the media really want from Carrick is cliché - the hypocrite roar of the "I love playing for England more than anything," rather than the ability to play football - but of course the actual point of Carrick is that it is his calmness and collectedness that make him the player he is.  Gerrard loses the ball too much because he believes the England-passion-bullshit too much.

Finally, The Manchester Evening News have some quotes from David Gill on how great we are at selling the club and business and marketing.  I won't bore you with the quotes.