Van Persie tipped to ‘beat the records’

Wenger backs RvP to reach the top

By Zain Alvi | 11th May 2012

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that captain Robin van Persie can establish himself as the best in the world if he continues the stunning level of form that he has maintained with the Gunners throughout this season.

In a rare year that never saw him plagued with serious injury concerns, van Persie took full advantage of the opportunity at hand by smashing 37 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions.

The Dutchman was recently crowned the PFA Player of the Year, convincingly beating all his Premier League counterparts in the voting tally.

However, much of the football world still recognizes Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo as the two best active players on the planet.

Not only have both players enjoyed a plethora of silverware (unlike RvP), they also make it look easy to score nearly 50 goals a season.

Wenger knows that as an ambitious man in his prime, van Persie is targeting that level of success in his near future and while speculation has repeatedly linked the forward with a move away from the club, his current boss believes that the skipper can achieve his goals together with the Gunners.

“Robin has done tremendously well. Even on Sunday [against Norwich] he got us back to 2-2 and scored again to make it 3-2,” Wenger stated in a recent interview with Arsenal Player.

The Frenchman added: “Of course, you don’t know what more to say about Robin’s season because, as the numbers tell you, only special players can achieve that. You want some more goals around Robin and for him to keep at these numbers. Of course you can beat the records.”

Wenger will be counting on RvP to exhibit his top form in this weekend’s visit to West Brom, which the Gunners must win to guarantee automatic Champions League qualification.