Arteta: RvP up with Messi

MIKEL ARTETA says that Arsenal captain Robin van Persie deserves to be compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the best players in the world.

His team-mate Alex Song is praying that the Dutchman doesn’t get injured, while coach Arsene is Wenger hoping that he signs a new contract as his current deal has only 18 months to run.

After his two goals against Borussia Dortmund sealed Arsenal’s place at the top of Group F, van Persie was the talk of the Emirates. He has now scored 33 goals in his last 30 appearances, and while the Dutchman sneaked out of a side-entrance after the match on Wednesday — evading the press as neatly as he shrugged off Mats Hummels for his two close-range efforts — he has given an insight into the inspiration behind his current run of form.

The presence of Dennis Bergkamp as his team-mate after van Persie joined Arsenal, aged just 21 from Feyenoord, back in 2004 helped him become the player he is today.

“I always sat next to him, as he was the number 10 and I was number 11 and I was always watching him, he was my idol,” said van Persie.

“I put him on a pedestal and he gave me a lot of answers: back then I could pass well and play football well, but I needed to take a big step to get to his level.”

Van Persie would watch Bergkamp train and on one occasion, viewed him while he was coming back from injury and doing a training exercise with a fitness coach and three youth-team players. As van Persie watched from a bath overlooking the training pitch, he had a revelation: “It was clear to me that he was bizarre,” he admitted.

“They were doing an exercise involving passing and shooting, with boards and mannequins. I kept waiting for him to make a mistake but he never made a mistake, and for me that was confirmation he was different. I waited 45 minutes and got wrinkly hands from the bath! He completed everything to its max: perfect passes, perfect first-touch and immediate passes back. It was so beautiful: to me, it was art.

“For me that was the moment I realised that if I really want to be a good player, I need to be able to do that, and from that moment on, I did every drill at 100%. I did everything to the best of my ability, I put in all I had, so that I wouldn’t make a mistake, and when I did make a mistake I was angry, because I wanted to be like Bergkamp.”

Van Persie made the revelations to journalist Henk Spaan in a documentary on Dutch television, and Spaan believes his current form is down to the confidence that Wenger has shown in him.

“It’s important to him to know that he’s valued,” Spaan said.

“Deep down, he may still be an insecure figure. He is growing with his own importance.”

Wenger explained that he had been impressed with how van Persie had deputised as team captain in the absence of Cesc Fabregas for much of last season.

“He lives football, he thinks about football and he is a leader, even though he is a forward,” said the coach.

“At the moment I believe van Persie is an exceptional player and takes advantage of our offensive style. From the wings we create a lot of chances, but I don’t deny he is the one at the moment who scores all the goals. We hope we can keep him fit and he is with us for a long time.”

His team-mates joined in the plaudits, with Song saying: “It’s very important that he doesn’t get injured because if he gets injured it would be very difficult for us.”

Arteta added: “At the moment he is level with the best strikers in the world. His numbers are unbelievable over the last eight or nine months. Sometimes he looks as if he doesn’t even try and he is still better than everyone else.

“For me, his natural talent makes him special. He can run past players and score an unbelievable goal. Without doubt, he is the best striker I have played with. He is on fire, he is making the difference and he deserves all the praise because he has been absolutely brilliant. We all know how good he is. He keeps performing and scoring goals. He is a fantastic player.”

With two games against Manchester City — in the Carling Cup next week, then the league — coming up in the next three weeks, Arsenal will hope that van Persie run of form continues. The constant desire to come close to his idol Bergkamp is driving him on.