The Gunners' captain has already equalled club legend Thierry Henry's total of 34 strikes but claims he is trying not to think about personal achievement with two games remaining in 2011 to score the three goals he needs to become to record holder.
The Dutchman told the Daily Mirror: 'I'm on 34 now, like Thierry. It is a big honour, to be fair, because Thierry is probably the best player Arsenal ever had and to achieve that in a year is really special.'It makes me proud, but it is not my main target. But as it happens, I'm happy about it, of course.
'I don't want to jinx myself. I know about it. But I think you have look at football from the basics, and if you do your basics right and if you play well, especially as a main striker, you will get your goals.'
Van Persie has put his run of form down to remaining fit throughout the year, something that has been a problem for him in the past.
He explained: 'I didn't miss one Premier League game. I played every single game, most of the games 90 minutes.
'So when you have a good run and you feel fresh and fit you try things, you take a big more risks here and there than, for example, just coming back from injury.
'You always need a couple of games when you're back from injury. As a striker I think it is really important to have a go.
'If you feel sometimes to have a chip or to maybe cut it instead of shooting... if you look at my performances I take more risks now because I know with the team behind me I will always get more chances.
'It's not that I only get one chance normally, I always get one, two, three, sometimes four chances in a game. That sort of tells me that I can take a risk here and there.
'But I want to help my team, I want to help them with assists, help them with goals, help them with good football. In some games that means holding the ball when we're struggling.
'For me it is not just scoring. Football is more for me than just scoring the ball in the back of the net. I think football can give you much more than to score. I enjoy a nice pass as much as a goal, you know?
'I just like to play football. I think football is a great game which can go many ways. I just love it at the moment.'
The Dutchman also refused to write off Arsenal's title hopes and believe his team still have enough time to catch up with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United at the top of the Premier League.
Van Persie said: 'It is still early. I think we've only played 17 games now, we're not even half way. So anything can happen in this league.
'Results early on, our result against Man United was a bit of a surprise, our result away at Chelsea was a big surprise, and then Manchester and Man City 6-1, so anything is possible.
'I want to win games and to help my team out and to have a good run, especially at Aston Villa because it is always really important to bounce back after a defeat.
'Great teams do bounce back and that's what we had to do. We had to bounce back and get a win. Now we have Wolves then afterwards QPR.
'Both at home, so hopefully we can have a good run again.
'They are great characters and they're really helpful in every area. They picked it up very well and I do need assistance, they are always helping me.
'Every year is different, every game is different. Before I experienced three other captains and they were great captains. Patrick Vieira I had for one year, after that Thierry, after that Cesc [Fabregas], in between William Gallas.
'But especially those three were really good captains so I learned a lot from them. For me it is hard to say where the difference is because every year is different.'
No comments:
Post a Comment