Wenger confident of Van Persie stay

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident star forward Robin van Persie will remain at the club beyond the end of the season.

The Netherlands international, 28, has been rumoured to be moving from Emirates Stadium with a year remaining on his contract.

Wenger is eager to keep the English Premier League’s leading goalscorer, and said on Friday he was optimistic Van Persie would stay.

“I can’t guarantee (it will go) smoothly, but it will go well. I am quite confident and believe he is committed to the club, and that the club has shown great commitment to him as well over the years and great faith in him,” the Frenchman said.

“I brought him here a long time ago and he has developed fantastically well as a man, as a player, and today he is a world-class player. He deserves great credit and hopefully we can keep him here.”

Cologne striker Lukas Podolski will join Arsenal ahead of next season, and Wenger praised the Germany international’s versatility.

“He’s a striker that we’re fond of. He’s technically gifted and can play through the middle or down the flanks,” Wenger said.

“He is very adaptable. He can create goals and score goals, so that makes him an obvious choice. He’s left footed as well, which makes it interesting especially if you have a left footed player on the right flank.

“He will provide plenty of assists and we were in touch with him for a long time so it is great that we can finalise the deal now.”

Arsenal are a point clear of Tottenham in third spot, the final automatic Champions League place, ahead of their clash at home to Norwich on Saturday.

Wenger, who will be without Abou Diaby because of a calf injury, said he was glad his team’s fate was in their own hands.

“Favourite (to finish third) is not a great meaning for me because it is always difficult to say, but we are in the driving seat,” he said.

“That means it depends only on our results and that’s what you want when you are a top-level professional football player or top-level club, you don’t want to depend on the results of others.

“That’s the situation that we are in. We depend only on our own results.”