Robin van Persie profile
Name
Robin van Persie
Born
August 06, 1983
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Position
Striker
Squad Number
10
Previous Club(s)
Feyenoord
Joined Arsenal
May 17, 2004
No one had a better 2011 than Robin van Persie.
No one has ever scored more Premier League goals from January 1 to the end of a season and no top-flight rival has come close to his record of scoring in nine consecutive away games.
Robin came back from an arduous World Cup summer with Holland to suffer a knock and a ten-week lay-off but he performed heroics in the half-season for which he was fit.
While others tailed off in the latter part of the campaign, Robin rose to the occasion to net 18 goals in 19 Premier League starts. He became Arsenal's go-to guy while injury hampered Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri lost some of his early-season sparkle.
There were braces against West Ham, Wolves and Newcastle, an audacious strike against Barcelona - winner of Arsenal’s Goal of the Season - and, to Robin's delight and relief, the first hat-trick of his career, against Wigan.
Who knows what Robin, and Arsenal, would have achieved if he had been fit for the whole season.
SOUNDBITE
“If I am really honest, I was starting to think: ‘Why can I not score a hat-trick?’. I had come so close so many times. I'd scored two goals and then I hit the bar or the post. I was unlucky. It means a lot because I've been here a long time. It was about time!”
| Competition | Appearances | Goals |
| League | 25 | 18 |
| FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
| Carling Cup | 3 | 1 |
| Champions League |
3 | 2 |
| Totals | 33 | 22 |
FINEST MOMENT
Robin admitted he had just about accepted that he would never score a hat-trick in English football - and then he bagged a stunning treble against Wigan at Emirates Stadium in January. He fired home his first after 21 minutes, volleyed his second just short of the hour mark and even missed a penalty before wrapping up his hat-trick five minutes from time.
Robin van Persie scores a hat-trick against Wigan Athletic
