RVP is Arsenal's Messi, says Wenger

Robin van Persie racked up his 100th goal for Arsenal against Bolton. (FILE)

Published Monday, September 26, 2011

By Staff

Arsene Wenger believes Robin van Persie is Arsenal’s answer to Barcelona magician Lionel Messi but the Dutch international is not prepared to commit his future at Emirates Stadium.

Wenger showered praise on his skipper after he bagged a double in their 3-0 win over 10-man Bolton to bring his Arsenal goal tally to 100.

Van Persie racked up his ton in 239 appearances, 64 of which have come from the bench, and he is only the 17th player in the club’s history to pass the 100 mark.

The 28-year-old’s achievement is made all the more impressive by the fact that he started his career at Arsenal as a winger.

Wenger moved the Dutchman further up the pitch and he now operates as the focal point of the team’s three-man attack.

Van Persie is far from the typical striker, though. He sometimes drifts and drops deep, picking up the ball and penetrating defences.

That, according to Wenger, makes him a similar player to Barcelona’s Messi, the world player of the year who scored 53 times last season.

“I see similarities positional-wise with Messi. He comes deep, he likes to turn up up front as well,” Wenger said.

“Positional-wise he doesn’t play like a real centre forward. But when you look at his movement around the box he’s very intelligent, goes on diagonal runs.

“I always thought his first touch was so good that he can make a difference even in a tight space.”

However, van Persie has raised further fears that he could follow the example of Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasi by forcing the club to sell him rather than let his contract run down.

He said: “I still have almost two years left here, so for the moment that’s fine. But I don’t know, we will have to look.

“I’m happy with my contract, I’m good. That’s how it is, I can’t say much more. I can’t look into the future.”

Van Persie talked with Wenger before the season started about the direction the club was going in and is concerned about the quality of the squad.

Asked if he might discuss a new deal soon, Van Persie added: “Maybe I’ll leave it because the main thing for me is the team and that we play well.

“I do believe you have to look for a right moment to sit down and speak about your own stuff.

“It’s not only about me, it’s about the team. We are not talking now because we are so busy — we have games every three or four days. I don’t think it’s clever to do that during the season.”

Manchester City are thought to be one of the clubs lining up a £30 million raid on the Arsenal captain.

The club could be faced with a similar problem to the Nasri one if Van Persie does not sign an extension to his current contract, which expires in 2013, but Wenger is not concerned.

“Now he (Van Persie) is out? No, I don’t think that really. Robin is not from Barcelona,” Wenger quipped.

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