Robin Van Persie

Name Robin Van Persie
Born August 06, 1983
Rotterdam
Netherlands
Position Striker
Squad Number 11
Previous Club(s) Feyenoord
Joined Arsenal May 17, 2004
Arsenal Debut Manchester United (n)
Community Shield
August 8, 2004,
Won 3-1


11. Robin Van Persie


"He is a top, top class player," said Arsène Wenger of Robin van Persie shortly after signing him in the summer of 2004. The Arsenal manager has been proved right ever since.

Robin shone in the first half of last season, scoring a breathtaking left-foot volley from the edge of the area against Charlton and netting six times in seven games at the turn of the year. That run culminated with the equalising goal in the win over Manchester United but it was Robin's last act of the season after breaking a metatarsal in the act of scoring. He still finished as Arsenal's top scorer with 13 goals but would surely have managed a lot more had he stayed fit.

Robin can make amends this season. Assuming greater responsibility in the wake of Thierry Henry's departure, the Dutchman was back to his best in pre-season, scoring the goals which won the Emirates Cup and the Amsterdam Tournament.

One of European football's most exciting talents, Robin has excellent close control, a powerful left foot and the ability to change a game with one piece of magic. He's a dab hand from free kicks too. Now, with Henry gone, the stage is set for Robin to become Arsenal's new talisman.

                                       My Year

April

Another mixed month for Robin as injury problems continued to wreak havoc with his match time. He completed just one game, at home to Reading, but did score a sublime goal away to Derby in April’s final fixture.

March

The long-awaited return of Robin came against Wigan. The Dutchman continued to ease his way back into Premier League life and slammed home his first goal since October in the win at Bolton. It was his second staggering comeback in a matter of days - he had played throughout Holland’s extraordinary win over Austria, a match they trailed 3-0 before winning 4-3.

February

A troublesome season showed no sign of respite for Robin as he failed to feature for the Club.

January

Same old story, just a change of month. Robin thought he had put his injury nightmare behind him when he returned to action against Tottenham at Emirates Stadium, but a recurrence of his muscle problem saw him withdrawn at half-time. He subsequently missed the rest of the month.

December

Robin returned to action midway through December featuring against Steaua Bucharest and Chelsea, but a slight knock meant he was sidelined for the remainder of the month.

November

Robin was sidelined with a knee injury for all of November.

October

Robin looked to be hitting top form before October’s international break. The Dutchman scored the winning goals against Steaua Bucharest and Sunderland, as well as a net-busting free-kick against Roy Keane’s men. The striker though sustained a bad injury to his knee playing for his country and looks set to miss much of November too.