Van Persie one of the best, says Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hailed star striker Robin van Persie as among the best players on the planet.

The 28-year-old has been in incredible form this season and has scored 17 goals in all competitions for the north London club, with 13 of those coming in the Premier League.

The Gunners coach believes the Dutch forward is hitting top form, and has suggested the 28-year-old is on a par with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He is in a period where he shows it is natural for him to score goals, when you are not desperate for goals you score,” Wenger told Arsenal’s official website.

“Hopefully we can keep him going, he is one of the top, top, top in the world at the moment. I think you have to compare him with players playing in his period.”

“We have [Lionel] Messi, we have [Cristiano] Ronaldo, we have many good strikers [in the world right now].”

“I don’t try to compare him with other strikers. I just want to keep him going as he does at the moment for us.”

Van Persie has scored 44 goals for club and country this calendar year, a ratio of 0.88 goals per game, which betters Messi’s return over the same period, while the only player with a better rate is Ronaldo who has bagged 53 goals in 55 games.