Robin van Persie's Top 10 Arsenal Moments

It goes without saying that Robin van Persie has had a superb Arsenal career. Even though he has not played as much as everyone would have liked due to injuries, the Dutchman's quality has never been in question.

Currently in the form of his life, there is little you can do to stop van Persie when he is on his day. Whether he leaves next summer or not, the fact remains that Arsenal have, and have had, one of the best strikers in the world.

And even though his playing time has been cruelly restricted, van Persie has had his glorious moments with Arsenal over the years. These instances of sheer brilliance have established the striker as something of an idol around the Emirates Stadium.

So, without further ado, let us recount 10 of these moments that have transformed Robin van Persie from a precocious youngster at Feyenoord to the leader of his Arsenal side seven years later.

Enjoy.

Signing for the Club

As a humorously young and clean-shaven van Persie states in the video that one of his dream clubs to someday sign for would be Arsenal.

Boy are Gooners happy that he got his wish.

At Feyenoord, van Persie was acting out and showing his emotional instability by lashing out at both opposition players and his own manager with frequency.

In typical Arsene Wenger fashion, he signed his new star for a bargain: £2.75 million. And May 17, 2004 would prove to be a massive day in the career of Robin van Persie, as he made his dream move to Arsenal and started down the path that would lead him to where he enjoys success today.

We Arsenal fans can only hope that van Persie made his last transfer seven-and-a-half years ago.

Linking Up with Dennis Bergkamp

Ironically, the very man Robin van Persie was bought to replace was also his idol: Dennis Bergkamp.

It is easy to see why van Persie looks up to his compatriot; they are two players very much cast from the same mold, and their shared nationality only strengthened an inevitable bond.

While in his twilight at Arsenal, Bergkamp acted as a mentor to the player he knew was being groomed as his replacement. And as Dennis the Menace was making his final great contribution to the club of his life, van Persie was living a dream.

Student learned a lot from mentor, and van Persie perfectly sums up the master when describing how he watched Bergkamp complete a 45-minute training exercise without a single mistake: "He did that exercise for over 45 minutes and he didn’t make one single error. To me it was art."

Winning the FA Cup in 2005

Van Persie's career at Arsenal got off to a great start, as in his first season Arsenal beat Manchester United and won the FA Cup.

Though Arsenal won the match in a very uncharacteristic fashion, Robin scored one of the crucial penalties that helped his side win what has proven to be their last trophy in six agonizing years.

Indeed, that was the last trophy that much of the old guard would win. It may have given van Persie false hope about his future success at his dream club, but that victory makes him one of the only men at Arsenal to have actually won anything meaningful with the club.

Hopefully, that very same image can be replicated at the end of this season.

Scoring the Goal of His Life vs. Charlton

Every so often, a football player will produce a moment of utter brilliance and spectacular skill that simply leaves the viewer in awe. In scoring the best goal of his career against Charlton Athletic, Robin van Persie produced one of those rare moments.

Following a pinpoint Emmanuel Eboue cross, van Persie timed his leap and his volley to perfection, launching a swerving thunderbolt past a helpless Scott Carson.

It gave Arsene Wenger a victory in the manager's 10th anniversary game, just as an almost equally impressive volley handed Le Professeur a win against Everton in his 15th.

The goal epitomized all the best qualities that make up van Persie as a striker. Wonderful athleticism, perfect technique and a magical left foot came together in one glorious moment to produce an awe-inspiring moment.

Scoring His 1st Professional Hat Trick vs. Wigan

After being denied the opportunity by fate and injuries for so long, van Persie finally turned up with his first hat trick for Arsenal against Wigan last season.

Only a few weeks after he made his return from what has turned out to be his last injury scare to date, three cool, calm and collected finishes gave the Gunners a stylish and much-needed win over the Latics.

The Dutchman himself was elated and quite relieved to have scored what was, for all intents and purposes, his first hat trick as a professional football player.

The scoring bonanza also signaled the triumphant return of Arsenal's No. 10, as those three goals did a lot to kick-start van Persie towards the incredible year he is currently enjoying.

Scoring His 100th Arsenal Goal

With one great swing of his leg against Bolton in September, van Persie became part of a rarefied air, as he joined the club of those who have scored 100 or more goals for Arsenal.

The individual achievement would have seemed impossible at the beginning of the year, as persistent injury problems kept the Dutchman from consistently increasing his tally as time wore on.

But due to his outstanding form, van Persie has not been able to keep from scoring goals, and he truly deserves the milestone, as a leader and a model servant to the club.

As he keeps up his form with no sign of injury, it appears as if nothing can slow van Persie from surpassing more and more Arsenal greats on his road to becoming a legend at the Emirates Stadium.

Equalizing Against Barcelona

The score was 1-0 Barcelona. The hated rivals were winning, and increasing their stranglehold on the game. It seemed as if only a moment of brilliance could put Arsenal on the scoreboard.

Step forward Robin van Persie.

Put through at a seemingly impossible angle by a nifty Gael Clichy chip, the striker somehow worked up the courage to test Victor Valdes with a powerful drive at his apparently secure near post.

With a quick slash of the foot and a poor guess by the Spaniard, Arsenal fans the world over were sent into euphoria. And as a symbol of how much the moment meant to him, he rushed to Arsene Wenger to embrace him in as manly a symbol of appreciation as one will ever see.

Being Made Captain

For van Persie, the honor of succeeding Cesc Fabregas as captain was merely a reward for his loyalty to and service for the club.

The appointment showed that RVP had come full circle. The man who was once a hot-headed youngster with disciplinary problems had matured and emerged as a leader of men, respected throughout the dressing room.

After all, following the prolonged transfer sagas that rocked the club during the summer, there was no better man to give the captaincy to than one who said, "The bottom line is that I want to win trophies with Arsenal, not with anybody else."

Both a leader by example and the type of vocal commander Arsenal have been lacking in recent years, it is clear that van Persie recognizes the responsibilities of the captaincy and has proven to be superb when wearing the armband for Arsenal.

Taking Down Chelsea

When Arsenal faced the toughest test of their mettle against Chelsea following their tentative reemergence as a top-four force, they needed someone to turn to who could win the game for them single-handedly.

I don't need to tell you who stepped up, do I?

After being set up by Gervinho for an early tap-in, van Persie put Arsenal ahead in glorious fashion after John Terry fell over. And in the dying moments of the game, it was the Flying Dutchman again who sealed the glorious 5-3 victory by completing his hat trick.

In a season that had been dismal until that point, van Persie's will to win and wonderful skill brought Gooners a rare moment of euphoria, and many count the Chelsea win as the high point of Arsenal's season thus far.

Equaling Thierry Henry's Scoring Record

Henry is a player who contributed heavily to van Persie's development when he was in his formative stages, and the Dutchman has said that equaling his former strike partner's club record is "special."

When van Persie smashed home a penalty to draw level with Henry against Aston Villa, it was merely the consummation of one of the best goal-scoring seasons in the history of English football.

And Robin deserves it, with all the adversity he has overcome during the course of his career, and the type of form he has been in during the course of the calendar year.

Ironically, van Persie might be reuniting with Henry on the Emirates pitch once more, as rumors abound that Arsenal's record goal scorer is ready to make a dramatic return for a two-month loan spell.

And just before the deal can be completed, the Dutchman can surpass the team record, and possibly Alan Shearer's all-time mark of 36, on December 31 versus QPR.

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