Players cannot grow, improve and develop without playing football, that has been proven many times over and equally players need time and a run of games to get back to their peak form after an injury has been suffered.

It certainly is nice to read some Arsenal related news that has nothing to do with Cesc Fabregas or transfer rumours. Robin Van Persie is in good form and is looking sharp and ready to show his talent to the world.

For much of last season it would have been very easy to have forgotten about his ability as he waited for yet another long term injury to heal, the team had to go about their business without his wonderfully gifted left foot.

Robin has been speaking about his game and about what is really important to him in a football sense.

Van Persie said:

“Arsene Wenger said at the end of this season, once I’d come back into the team, that people would have been talking about me like Lionel Messi if I had not been injured, I can see what the manager meant when he said those things. But I still think I am not in the same class until I have gone a long period without an injury.

“And I want to go through next season where I score 30 goals and have 20 assists. Only then I will turn around to the manager and say, ‘Yes boss, you are right’. But I admit that I have a massive desire to get to the level of Messi, Rooney and Ronaldo. And I’d rather do it today than tomorrow.

Players cannot grow, improve and develop without playing football, that has been proven many times over and equally players need time and a run of games to get back to their peak form after an injury has been suffered. With that in mind, you have to wonder how good Robin Van Persie would be if he had for example the same injury record as Bacary Sagna. Even at 26 years of age I feel that we are only witnessing 70% of Van Persie’s true ability.

Van Persie is a very clinical striker yet he misses many chances by hitting the target but perhaps not quite finding the corner of the net. Once he gets through a season with only the usual minor injuries then his conversion rate will improve as it did with Thierry Henry for example.

I have no doubt that Van Persie would have been as influential as Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba last season and ultimately those goals, assists and performances could have swung the league title in our favour, regardless of what you may think of the other squad players.

Robin is correct with his assessment that he cannot be compared to the world’s best until he completes a league season and produces consistent performances. He has been very unlucky with injuries, mainly due to impact rather than pulls and strains so we will all cross our fingers again and hope that the next campaign is the one that allows us to watch the full version instead of the bit part Van Persie.

Robin’s views on trophies is similar to my own.

Van Persie said:

“I’ve always said that I want to win as many trophies as possible in my career, but not at any price, What I am trying to say is that I will work my socks off to get the maximum out of my career, but I won’t move to a club which does not play my style of football.

“Dennis Bergkamp is, in my eyes, still ‘The Master’. The fact that he never won the Champions League, the European Championship or the World Cup does not take anything away from his greatness as a player.

“Of course I love silverware in my football career. But sometimes you can’t rush from A to Z.’’

I couldn’t agree more. I would rather watch us play entertaining football every week and finish second than to watch Stoke City football and win the league. Football is to be enjoyed, if that wasn’t the case then we would just wait until the end of the season to see how the honours were dished up.

Van Persie’s Bergkamp example was perfect, a player widely seen as the greatest player to don the Arsenal shirt in our history didn’t manage to get his hands on arguably the two biggest trophies in the sport. Hopefully Robin can combine the two and win many trophies at Arsenal.

Van Persie does not see his future at Real Madrid, preferring the Arsenal and Barcelona way of doing things.

Van Persie said:

“Van der Vaart has said that, if Arsenal don’t sign him, I’ll have to join him in Madrid, But I don’t think that is for me. Real is a fantastic club but the speed of managers and players coming and going is frightening. It must give them neck ache, looking who is coming in and going out.

“They have this philosophy: You did not win anything this year. There is the door and here is a couple of million to buy you off. Ready for the next purchase.

“I prefer the philosophy of Arsenal and Barcelona.”

I think we should just solve all these problems by bringing Van der Vaart to Arsenal. Jokes aside, we will have to brace ourselves for the future because Robin will be chased by all the big clubs around the world, especially once he consistently remains fit.

The last thing we need is to give Barcelona a whiff of anymore of our quality players but whiff or no whiff, big clubs will always be circulating around the brighter side of north London because Arsene Wenger will always work with talented and technical players. Players that the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan will want in their side to improve their squads.

Robin also back tracked on his comments last week about preferring to play with the more talented players as apposed to Dirk Kuyt. Haha, he did attempt to redeem himself by saying that Kuyt has improved as a player.

It didn’t really need to be said did it? Who would you rather attempt to find you with a pass Kuyt or Sneijder?

Having said that it was Kuyt who found Robin to score in the last Holland game.

If Arsene reverts back to two forwards then Robin may gain some more space to do his funky stuff alongside new boy Chamakh and the improving Nicklas Bendtner.

More Barcelona rubbish coming out in the media from Spain. All sorts from EXCLUSIVE: Rosell deal secures Fabregas at Arsenal for one more year to another Barcelona player saying Pique: Signing Cesc will be difficult for Barca

Perhaps the fax finally got out of the queue and found itself in the offices at Barcelona. Like I said, I shall wait for Arsenal to inform me of the goings on and I shall distance myself from all the other rubbish. The last time I read any Cesc news, I heard that he is not for sale and that we do not want to do any business with Barcelona. End of, unless I am told otherwise.

Hopefully now, we can concentrate on our lives, regain sleep again and Arsene can continue his squad rebuilding behind the scenes. Not that he actually stopped, which is the point that I am trying to make, in a rather long winded and pointless way.

Anyway..

Andrey Arshavin explained himself very well, admitting to being a Barcelona supporter but happy and content at Arsenal. That is fine, I just want to see a much better showing from Arshy next season. I want to see the player who racked up 27 assists for Zenit a few years ago.

And with that, I depart.

Back again tomorrow.

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