WENGER DEFENDS VAN PERSIE

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended his striker Robin van Persie's form at the Euro 2012 by saying that the lack of goals from the 28-year-old is down to the Dutch teammates.

Despite being one of the favourite teams to win the Euro 2012, the Netherlands went out of the competition in the group stages itself after having suffered three defeats in the three group matches. Robin van Persie, who came into the tournament as one of the players to watch, was extremely disappointing after he failed to convert many chances for the national team.

Wenger, who is facing a major fight to keep his star striker at the Emirates stadium, has said that Robin van Persie's failure to score goals is due to his teammates not helping him.

Robin van Persie had an extraordinary season with Arsenal last season after he almost single-handedly helped the club reached the third place in the league. This, in turn, helped them qualify for the Champions League group stages automatically.

It has been seen as a major reason that would persuade Robin van Persie to stay at the club, like he did with Cesc Fabregas years before. Even though there are many rumours suggesting that Robin van Persie would sign for Italian club Juventus, Wenger believes that the Dutchman will stay at Arsenal next season.

“Robin deserves more credit than he gets in Holland. Robin van Persie was the best striker during the tournament. He’s much better than strikers from other countries and he’s also better than [Klaas-Jan] Huntelaar. You’ve got two types of strikers. You’ve got the ‘striker-striker’, who only plays in the box and waits for the ball. And you’ve got more footballing strikers, like Van Persie, and in the even more extreme Karim Benzema at France,” said Arsene Wenger to the De Telegraaf after the tournament's exit for the Dutch.