Robin van Persie

Personal information
Date of birth	August 6, 1983 (1983-08-06) (age 24)
Place of birth	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	11
Youth clubs
	Excelsior Rotterdam
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001-2004 2004-	Feyenoord Arsenal	61 (14) 77 (23)
National team2
2005-	Netherlands	22 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 September 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 26 December 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Robin van Persie (born August 6, 1983 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer currently playing at English Premier League team Arsenal as a striker. He can play as a striker (as he normally does for Arsenal) or on either wing, as he primarily does for the Netherlands. He is also a free kick specialist.

Van Persie was brought up in the Kralingen area of east Rotterdam.

Club career

Feyenoord

Robin Van Persie began his career as a youth player for Dutch side Excelsior Rotterdam and later Feyenoord Rotterdam, earning caps in the process for Netherlands U21 and U21 teams. He was called up to Feyenoord's injury plagued first-team squad soon after he signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the club in January 2002. His performances with Feyenoord, including his playing an integral part in the 3-2 UEFA Cup final victory over Borussia Dortmund at the De Kuip on May 8, 2002, earned him the prestigious Best Young Talent award given by the KNVB for the 2001-02 season.

As a result of a back injury suffered during the summer of 2002, there was uncertainty as to whether Van Persie could start the new season. Van Persie, however, showed no such worries come the beginning of the season, scoring 8 goals in 28 league games as well as playing twice in the UEFA Champions League. Despite his talent, Robin Van Persie had a difficult relationship with the Feyenoord manager Bert van Marwijk, a strict disciplinarian, who sent him home on the eve of the European Super Cup against Real Madrid in Monaco.

With Van Persie's Feyenoord contract due to expire in 2005, a disagreement with Bert van Marwijk combined with the fact that the club had not offered him a new contract meant that he spent most of the following season as a fading light at the club.

Arsenal

English club Arsenal, undeterred by a rebuff during the January 2004 transfer window, made a move for the striker at the end of the 2003-04 season. Van Persie also emerged as a target for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen, and Spanish side Sevilla. However Arsenal fended off other club interest and signed van Persie, despite already having signed Spanish striker José Antonio Reyes from Sevilla. Van Persie completed his move for a fee believed to be in the range of £3 million to the Premiership on May 17, 2004. Praised by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger for the strength of his talent and touted as a long-term replacement of Dennis Bergkamp, the young Dutchman made his debut for the team in the 3-1 FA Community Shield victory over Manchester United on August 8, 2004. Early on, he played as a left winger, but subsequently featured as a striker.

Van Persie with Thierry Henry.

He spent most of his time on the bench during earlier parts of the season and looked to have earned himself a permanent place there with his sending off against Southampton which cost Arsenal two points, and caused Wenger to display uncharacteristic anger in public with a player. To his credit, Van Persie redoubled his efforts in training during his suspension and was reintroduced in to the team when injuries to Thierry Henry forced Wenger's hand. His return to the first team has been marked with numerous goals, the pinnacle of his achievements (at that time) coming in the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers where he scored two goals to secure victory for Arsenal. He also scored the vital breakthrough goal against West Bromwich Albion to help Arsenal secure second place in the Premiership after the Albion defence had proved difficult to break down. As a result of his good play he won the The Barclay's Premiership Player of the Month.

Playing for Arsenal

Van Persie scored in the first game of the 2005-06 season and he continued to show good form, winning the prestigious Player of the Month award in November after scoring six goals in just four starts. He signed a contract extension keeping him at the North London club until 2011.

In the early part of the 2006-07 season, against Charlton Athletic, he scored what turned out to be BBC's Goal of the Month, an airborne volley from the edge of the 18-yard box. Arsène Wenger described it as "technically perfect". Another notable contribution was made during a 2-1 loss to Fulham FC. As Arsenal's inconsistent form continued with Fulham taking a shock lead, Robin gave the Gunners a glimmer of hope with a blistering free kick from the better part of 30 yards. These and his international performances for his country earned him the title Rotterdam Sportsman of the year 2006. Shortly after being named Rotterdam sportsman of the year, five goals in four games against Blackburn Rovers, Watford F.C. and Charlton illustrated his importance to Arsenal. Van Persie's season was soon ended by injury however. In a match against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on 21 January 2007, Van Persie came on as a substitute and scored the equaliser in the 84th minute. In doing so, Van Persie fractured his fifth metartarsal in his right foot while celebrating, an injury that kept him out till the end of the season, where he managed to remain as the top scorer for the season with Arsenal.

Following the departure of Arsenal star striker Thierry Henry prior to the 2007-08 season, Van Persie was expected to assume the role as the main striker of the club. He showed good form in the pre-season Emirates Cup, scoring the winning goal in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Internazionale, a goal described by one journalist as "of sublime execution".

International career

Playing for the Netherlands

Robin van Persie received his first full international cap against Romania on 4 June 2005. Despite not being an automatic first choice to start for Arsenal, Van Persie was selected as one of the Netherlands' forwards for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by national coach Marco Van Basten. His first World Cup goal came in the group match against Côte d'Ivoire, a free kick in the 23rd minute.

During the Euro 2008 qualifiers, van Persie made an impact during games against Luxembourg and Belarus. Two goals in either halves and an assist helped the Netherlands claim a 3-0 win. He continued his form in the next two games, scoring against Bulgaria in a 1-1 draw and also in the 2-1 victory against Albania a few days later.

Personal life

Van Persie's mother is a teacher and his father an artist. His father brought him up as a single parent. He grew up in a rough neighbourhood of Rotterdam. He had a series of behavioral problems at school and was often excluded from classes. He is married to Bouchra, a Dutch-Moroccan. They have one child together, a boy named Shaqueel, born on November 16, 2006. They live in Enfield, North London.

During the 2005 close season van Persie was accused of rape by a Dutch-Nigerian beauty queen. Dutch police eventually released van Persie without charge after they completed their investigations.

Honours

Arsenal

• Winner
  • FA Cup 2005
  • FA Community Shield 2004
• Runner-up
  • UEFA Champions League 2006

Club career statistics

(correct as of 21 September, 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Feyenoord	2001-02	8	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	15	-	-
	2002-03	23	9	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	25	9	-
	2003-04	28	6	-	-	-	-	3	0	-	31	6	-
	Total										71	15	-
Arsenal	2004–05	26	5	1	9	4	0	6	1	0	41	10	1
	2005–06	24	5	1	7	4	0	7	2	0	38	11	1
	2006–07	22	11	7	1	0	0	8	2	1	30	13	8
	2007–08	5	2	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	7	3	1
	Total										116	37	11
Career Total											187	52	11

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2005-06-08	Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	0-4	0-4	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
2	2006-06-11	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Côte d'Ivoire	1-0	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup
3	2006-08-16	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Ireland	0-4	0-4	Friendly match
4	2006-09-06	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	Belarus	1-0	3-0	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
5	2006-09-06	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	Belarus	2-0	3-0	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
6	2006-10-07	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1-1	1-1	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
7	2006-06-11	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Albania	1-0	2-1	2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying

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