Robin van Persie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɔbɪn vɑn ˈpɛrsi] (
listen); born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United and theDutch national team. He is a youth product of Feyenoord.[3] Having joined Arsenal in 2004, Van Persie became the club captain on 16 August 2011, one year before he joined rivals Manchester United.[4][5] His playing style and ability have drawn comparison to Dutch legend Marco van Basten.[6][7] On 7 June 2013, Van Persie was appointed captain of the Dutch national team [8]
The son of two artists, Van Persie was encouraged to follow in his parents' footsteps,[9] but he instead preferred football and joined SBV Excelsior's youth squad. He made his breakthrough at another hometown club Feyenoord, where he spent three seasons and won the 2002 UEFA Cup.[10] He was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year for the 2001–02 season. Disagreements with managerBert van Marwijk culminated in a change of club and Van Persie moved to Premier League side Arsenal for £2.75 million in 2004 as a long-term replacement for Dennis Bergkamp.[11][12] He won the FA Community Shield and the FA Cup in his first season with the London club but did not win another major trophy for the rest of his eight-year spell at Arsenal. Van Persie has been named Premier League Player of the Month three times.[13] In 2012, Van Persie was ranked 7th in The Guardian's list of 100 Best Footballers in the world.[14]
Van Persie was a Dutch youth international, having represented the Netherlands under-17, under-19 and under-21 sides. He made his senior international debut in 2005 in a friendly match against Romania. One month later, he netted his first senior international goal in a 4–0 win over Finland. Van Persie has 78 caps so far and has scored 38 goals for the Netherlands.[15][16] He represented his country in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012.
Feyenoord
Van Persie joined Dutch side SBV Excelsior's youth squad at the age of 5 years, but left at the age of 15, due to the relationship with the coach and his mother, and thus signed for Feyenoord.[17] He was quickly promoted into the first team due to injury problems among the squad, and made his debut for the club at 17, which was the first of 15 total starts. He received the KNVB Best Young Talent award at the end of the 2001–02 season. He signed a professional three-and-a-half-year contract with Feyenoord in the following season, and scored five goals in a 6–1 Amstel Cup thrashing of AGOVV Apeldoorn on 6 February 2003. However, clashes with his manager Bert van Marwijk saw Van Persie demoted to the reserve squad, and an irate Van Marwijk told reporters, "His behaviour made it impossible for him to remain in the squad any longer so he will join the reserve side for the time being."[18] During a match featuring the Feyenoord and Ajax reserves, he was one of several Feyenoord players assaulted by hooligans who had invaded the pitch.[17] Van Persie's rift with Van Marwijk continued when he was sent home on the eve of the 2002 UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid after the coach was displeased with Van Persie's body language after being asked to warm up for a Champions League qualifier.[19] Van Persie finished his tumultuous debut season on the first team, making a total of 28 appearances and scoring eight goals, in addition to finishing runner-up in the KNVB Cup.
Feyenoord unsuccessfully attempted to extend Van Persie's contract during the off-season, and his deteriorating relationship with Van Marwijk led to his spending most of the 2003–04 season on the bench. He again played 28 matches, but finished with two fewer goals than the previous season. Feyenoord shopped him at the end of the campaign but found few takers due to Van Persie's past disciplinary issues. During the January transfer window, the Eredivisie club opened negotiations with Arsenal, who were seeking a long-term replacement for aging veteran Dennis Bergkamp, but both parties could not agree to terms.
Arsenal
2004–05
On 17 May 2004, Van Persie signed a four-year deal with Arsenal for £2.75 million, just over half of Feyenoord's original asking price of £5 million.[20] Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, who planned to convert Van Persie from a left winger to a centre forward as he had successfully done with star player Thierry Henry,[21] said of his new acquisition, "He can play on the left side of midfield, as a creative player behind the main strikers or as a target man."[22] Arsenal had further padded their stable of strikers in January by signing Spanish forward José Antonio Reyes,[23] leaving the two to battle for playing time. Van Persie made his debut and won a trophy in the process, as he came on as a substitute in the 3–1 FA Community Shield victory over Manchester United on 8 August 2004. Van Persie spent most of his time on the bench during earlier parts of the 2004–05 season, and made his competitive debut on 27 October by scoring Arsenal's opening goal in a 2–1 League Cup win over Manchester City.
He was sent off for the first time, however, in an Arsenal shirt on 26 February during a 1–1 road draw with Southampton, following a lunge at left back Graeme Le Saux, for which Wenger was seen yelling an obscenity at Van Persie from the sidelines. He then later lambasted his charge in the press. "I do not support Van Persie today, but he did not look out of control at half-time. When the referee has sent off a home player, he is under pressure, so, if any player had to behave, it was him." Meanwhile, Telegraph sportswriter Clive White described Van Persie in his match report as "21 going on nine."[25] Van Persie was consequently benched for a number of games, starting with Arsenal's upcoming FA Cup replay against Sheffield United,[26] and he was reintroduced into the squad only after Henry was out with a calf injury, and his return to the first team saw him score twice in a FA Cup semi-final win over Blackburn Rovers. The rest of Van Persie's season was cut short by injury, and he finished with ten goals in 41 appearances in all competitions.[27]
2005–06
Van Persie's good form at the start of the 2005–06 season earned him the Player of the Month award for November 2005 after eight goals in eight starts,[21] and he was rewarded with a five-year contract extension until 2011 on 4 January.[28] Two days after signing the contract, however, Van Persie was again hit by injury when an opponent stepped on his foot and broke his toe during an FA Cup match against Cardiff.[29]
Van Persie played the next three matches with a hole cut into his shoe to alleviate the pain until he was finally rested for Arsenal's Premier League match against West Ham United on 1 February.[19] He was an unused substitute in Arsenal's first Champions League final appearance, a 2–1 loss to FC Barcelona.[30]
The beginning of the 2006–07 season included an airborne volley against Charlton Athletic that Wenger called "the goal of a lifetime"[31] and was later named BBC Sport's Goal of the Month for September,[32] and he capped off the calendar year by being named the 2006 Rotterdam Sportsman of the Year. His season, however, ended early for the second time in his career on 21 January, when he fractured the fifthmetatarsal in his right foot while celebrating his late equalizer in a match against Manchester United.[33] Although Van Persie was injured for a large part of the season he still managed to finish as Arsenal's top goalscorer with 13 goals in all competitions.
2007–08
After Henry departed for Barcelona prior to the 2007–08 season, Van Persie assumed the role as Arsenal's main striker. Following a streak of seven goals in ten regular-season games, Van Persie was sidelined for two months with a knee injury suffered on international duty.[34] He made his comeback in Arsenal's Champions League group stage win over Steaua București on 12 December and made his Premier League return in the win against Chelsea over the weekend. He picked up, however, a recurrent injury that kept him sidelined until January when he played 45 minutes in a League Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur. He was withdrawn at half-time following another injury scare and featured sporadically throughout the rest of the campaign.[35]
2008–09
Van Persie opened his 2008–09 account on 31 August with a brace in Arsenal's 3–0 league victory over Newcastle United.[36] On 29 October, he scored his fiftieth career Arsenal goal in a 4–4 home draw with North London derby rivals Tottenham, but was hit with his first red card of the season on 1 November after knocking down goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen with a shoulder charge in a 2–1 loss toStoke City. Sørensen later admitted to "teasing" Van Persie in an attempt to provoke a reaction.[37] On 30 November, he scored a brace against Chelsea to help Arsenal come from behind and pick up a 2–1 victory at Stamford Bridge.[38] On 21 December 2008, he scored a spectacular goal against Liverpool, which became his second-career BBC Goal of the Month.[39] With captain Cesc Fàbregas injured and regular stand-in skipper Manuel Almunia rested, Van Persie captained Arsenal for the first time on 3 January 2009 for the club's 3–1 third-round FA Cup victory over Plymouth Argyle.[40] Van Persie scored Arsenal's first and third goals, while the second was a result of his cross being deflected into the net by a Plymouth player for an own goal.[41] In January 2009, every Arsenal goal that month was either scored or assisted by Van Persie, which earned him the club's Player of the Month award.[42] His most inspirational display being against Hull City, where he struck the post with a freekick, and provided three assists to his teammates; he later received the Man of the Match award. On 24 February, Van Persie scored a crucial penalty that earned Arsenal a 1–0 win over Roma in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 encounter, after he was fouled by defender Philippe Mexès.[43] He followed it up with a fifth Champions League goal by converting another penalty against Villarreal in a 3–0 victory. On the final day of the Premier League, Van Persie scored a brace against Stoke City, which guaranteed him for the second time in his career as Arsenal's top scorer. He had his best season overall for Arsenal as he scored 11 Premier League goals, along with a league-leading 11 assists and a career-best of 20 goals in all competitions. Van Persie was named the 2008–09 Arsenal.com Player of the Season.[44]
2009–10
With only one year remaining of his contract, Van Persie was in negotiations with Arsenal about an extension for several months in 2009. Finally, it was announced in July that he had signed a new long-term contract with his club, stating, "My heart is with Arsenal and I just can't picture myself in a different shirt."[45] The departure of Emmanuel Adebayor also meant that the Dutchman was now the main striker in Wenger's 4–3–3 system. Van Persie started the 2009–10 season with two assists in the first match against Everton, which led to a 6–1 victory. As one of the first choice penalty and corner takers, he has set up many of Arsenal's goals, includingThomas Vermaelen's debut goal against Everton. He scored his first goal of the season in the 4–2 loss at Eastlands to Manchester City, where he later had his head stomped on by former teammate Adebayor (an act which the referee failed to notice, but the FA later charged Adebayor with violent conduct and served him with a three-game suspension).[46] He then scored goals against Olympiacos,Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, West Ham United, and Tottenham. Van Persie's excellent form in October did not go unrecognised as he was named Barclays Player of the Month for October, his second such award.[47] On 14 November, however, he injured his ankle in an international friendly and was initially expected to be out for six weeks,[48] but further tests showed that he would be out for five months. Van Persie made his return on 14 April, in a 2–1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. He then scored a header against Blackburn Rovers in the 2–1 defeat, and a goal assisted by Theo Walcott in the 4–0 win over Fulham in the last league game of 2009–10 season.
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