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Wenger believes Robin van Persie would now be classed in the same league as the world's best players if he had stayed fit all season.
The Dutch striker's stunning form in the early part of the campaign helped Arsenal make a strong start to their title challenge.
But he ruptured ankle ligaments whilst on international duty last November and has been sidelined for the past five months.
Van Persie will return against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Wednesday but Wenger feels the injury stopped him from being recognised as one of the leading footballers on the planet.
"The biggest frustration was because he had started to compete as one of the best players in the world and suddenly he was out," Wenger said in the Daily Mail.
"I am convinced you would have talked about Van Persie alongside Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney."
Arsenal have managed to stay in touch with Premier League leaders Chelsea without Van Persie but Wenger admits he has been left wondering what might have happened if the 26-year-old had lasted a full season.
The Gunners manager believes Van Persie has shown that he is an intelligent player as well as a skilful one.
"He is a leader because he has a football brain and is a football thinker. He is a winner and he has matured a lot in the last three or four years," said Wenger.
"Nobody knows what difference he might have made. You have always that thought at the end of the season.
"You think 'what if we had one or two more points or if we had those points at Birmingham?'
"But you forget as well that you won games in the last seconds or minutes."
www.skysports.com
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Robin Van Persie looks as good as ever in training, according to Arsène Wenger.
The Dutch forward recently returned to full practise after suffering damage to his ankle ligaments playing for Holland late last year. At his press conference on Tuesday, Wenger confirmed the 26-year-old would return to the first-team squad at Tottenham on Wednesday night for the first time since November 7. The manager was clearly delighted to see him return to the fold.
"It's been a tough time," admitted Wenger. "When you know how much Robin loves football it's been a very tough time I tell you but he has certainly come through with a different appetite and stronger as well for the future of his career so I am very happy that he is back.
"What is the most satisfying for me is that he looks in training like he has never been out."
The Frenchman added that, despite a run of injuries up front, he did not coerce Van Persie's comeback.
"I have never forced anybody to play," he said. "My job is to allow players to play. But he feels ready and fit and is happy to contribute."
www.arsenal.com
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Arsène Wenger insists his decision to bring back Robin Van Persie at Tottenham on Wednesday is NOT a massive gamble.
The manager lost William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas for significant periods after he played them while still recovering against Barcelona in the Champions League Quarter-Final first leg. Having waited since November for Van Persie to return, it will be heart-breaking for the Dutch striker to suffer in similar fashion.
At his pre-match press conference, Wenger was confident this would be different but he could provide no promises.
"There is always a gamble," he said. "I don't want to deny that, there is always a gamble in this kind of decision. But in his case we have been a bit more cautious because he has had more time for preparation.
"The biggest gamble I took recently was on Gallas. Fabregas was not a massive gamble. Gallas certainly and it didn't work but he came back from a muscular problem. That is not the case for Robin. He has a joint problem.
"Robin is a very important player for this club. He is important for the confidence of our offensive power, he is a player who can contribute as well. He can make the final ball, he is good on set-pieces, he can score goals, so we are very happy to have him back. The sadness for us is that we lost him so early in the season."
www.arsenal.com
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Arsenal striker Robin van Persie could make a surprise return to the Gunners squad for Wednesday's crucial trip to Tottenham, BBC Sport understands.
The 26-year-old Dutchman scored eight goals in 11 games before rupturing ankle ligaments during the Netherlands' friendly against Italy last November.
In Van Persie's absence Arsenal have scored only 1.77 goals per league game, as opposed to 3.26 before his injury.
Arsenal are three points behind leaders Chelsea with five games left.
And with the Blues hosting Bolton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, Arsene Wenger's men could be six points adrift by the time they kick off against Spurs at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea also benefit from a far superior goal difference, so anything other that a victory would deal the Gunners' title aspirations a potentially fatal blow.
Three points would keep Arsenal in realistic contention and see them leapfrog Manchester United into second place.
That may encourage Wenger to name Van Persie in his injury-ravaged squad, who play their first match since being knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona last Tuesday.
The Dutchman, who scored twice in Arsenal's 3-0 win against Spurs early this season, has missed 31 games in all competitions but his rehabilitation went according to plan and Wenger was impressed by the physical condition he was in on returning from the Netherlands.
Van Persie maintained his fitness through swimming and gym work and, once the ankle had completely healed, he began training with amateur side AFC Amsterdam.
He has now been doing ball work for several weeks and reportedly stunned onlookers by completing a daily work-out in which he would shoot with full force and perform sprinting drills.
"He is physically, fitness-wise, in a good shape," said Gunners boss Wenger on 25 March.
"So we have just to get him back to full team fitness - that will take two to three weeks maximum.
"I would say two weeks but after that when you start to play you are not at your best. You have to get a few games to get back to your best."
Club physio Colin Lewin recently told the Arsenal website that Van Persie - Arsenal's joint third-highest scorer in the league this season - would be joining the first-team squad for full training "imminently".
After Tottenham, Arsenal face Wigan, Manchester City, Blackburn and Fulham as they bid to win their first trophy since 2005 and a first Premier League title since 2004.
Van Persie's return is also good news for the Netherlands ahead of this summer's World Cup in South Africa.
www.bbc.co.uk
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Arsene Wenger said last Tuesday in an interview with the NOS, that Robin van Persie will be training with the squad this week. You can watch the interview here.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hopes that striker Robin van Persie will return to training in the next two weeks, according to AP.
The 26 year-old suffered a serious ankle injury while playing for Holland in a friendly against Italy back in November. The Dutchman had been in excellent form, hitting 8 goals in 15 games at the start of the season.
Van Persie hopes to return to help Arsenal's push for both Premier League and Champions League glory.
Wenger also believes that Van Persie can play an important role as the season reaches its climax. The Arsenal boss said he hopes to "give him some big games to aim for at the end of the season."
Van Persie's return would be welcome news for Wenger who faces the prospect of finishing the season without William Gallas and possibly Gunners' captain Cesc Fabregas . Andrey Arshavin also faces a short spell on the sidelines.
www.imscouting.com
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Dutch TV station Net 5 brings this Spring a show about 4 football wives who are going to build a SOS children village in Kenia. Bouchra van Persie is one of the 4 women. She travels together with Winonah de Jong (Nigel de Jong, Manchester City), Esmeralda Blokland (Kew Jaliens, AZ Alkmaar) and Kim Sanders (Piet Velthuizen, Vitesse) to the African country.
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Arsenal striker Robin van Persie is on course to play the final month of the season after making unexpectedly rapid progress in his recovery from a serious ankle injury. The Dutchman ruptured ligaments in a November 14 friendly international, although he did not have surgery until December. ‘There is a chance for Van Persie to be back mid-April,’ said Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger.
www.timesonline.co.uk
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Holland forward Dirk Kuyt hopes international team-mate Robin van Persie will be fit for the World Cup.
Arsenal star Van Persie is currently recovering from ankle surgery after sustaining serious ligament damage while on international duty last November.
It was diagnosed at the time that the striker's season was over, but Holland coach Bert van Marwijk has recently stated that the player could be back in action by April.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has since said that Van Marwijk's prediction is premature, but Kuyt is also optimistic Van Persie will soon be back in action.
"I believe Robin is working very hard to come back as quickly as possible," the Liverpool ace told Sky Sports News ahead of his country's friendly with USA on Wednesday.
"It was a very bad injury, but as far as I believe he is working very hard to come back and be ready for the last couple for games for Arsenal.
Progress
"Hopefully, then he will be in top form like he was at the beginning of the season for Arsenal."
Asked if he hoped Van Persie would play at the World Cup, Kuyt added: "Of course. He is a very important player for this team, he has showed it before, and I think he can be major impact for the Dutch team."
www.skysports.com
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Robin van Persie may be on course to be back in action by the start of April according to Holland coach Bert Van Marwijk.
The Arsenal striker, who has not played since November when he sustained ankle ligament damage, was thought to be available to return to playing at the end of April.
However some positive news on the 26-year-old's rehabilitation has revealed he may be back to see through a larger portion of the Gunners' campaign should there be no problems.
"I spoke to him on the phone last week and he is improving all the time and feeling better," said Van Marwijk.
"I hope that he will play at the beginning of April and he feels this is maybe possible."
The news will come as a major boost to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who all but ruled out the possibility of the Dutchman playing another game this season at the time of his injury.
Important
Van Persie has clearly been missed at the Emirates since he sustained his injury, with a transition to a centre forward role regarded as a success, something Wenger has struggled to replace since his injury.
But with the Gunners still just six points behind league leaders Chelsea, his return could benefit one last push at the title and the Champions League, should they remain in the competition.
The news also came as a boost for Van Marwijk, who regards the former Feyenoord forward as an important part of the national team's plans with the World Cup in South Africa this summer rapidly approaching.
"He is a very important player for me so it is very important for me that he is fit," he said.
www.skysports.com
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Robin van Persie's recovery from an ankle injury is progressing well and the striker could be back in action for the Gunners in late April.
The striker will begin intensive fitness work soon and Wenger is hopeful for a late spring date for his return if everything stays on track.
“If you ask me is it the beginning of April, I would say categorically no because he has not started any real fitness work yet,” said Wenger at his Friday press conference.
“Once he starts that, it will take at least six weeks.
“Maybe [he will be back] at the end of April if all goes well. If there is no set-back, he should be back before the end of the season but it is very difficult to predict."
www.goal.com
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Robin van Persie maybe wants to end his career at Excelsior. Excelsior is a Dutch first division club (same level as the English Championship) in Kralingen, Rotterdam. Van Persie played as a kid for Excelsior. At the age of 13, he went to the youth academy of Feyenoord.
Van Persie played together with Mounir El Hamdaoui (AZ Alkmaar) and Said Boutahar (Willem II) at Excelsior. Both are youth friends of Robin and with those two friends, Robin wants to play for Excelsior at the end of his career.
Van Persie: "Excelsior is in my heart. I like the idea of ending my career at Excelsior with my friends. Excelsior is the only club in the Netherlands that I want to play for. The main thing there is to love the game of football and that's also the main thing for me."
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Robin van Persie snubbed offers to join Chelsea and Manchester City last summer.
The Arsenal striker instead decided to sign a four-year contract at the Emirates, which put him on wages of around £70,000 a week.
Van Persie, 26, was also the subject of interest from Serie A, with Juventus and Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan also watching his contract situation.
The Dutchman said: "It is good that four teams were really interested in me but I had to turn them down. It's not as easy to leave Arsenal as you maybe think.
"Even if you want to leave, as a player, I don't think it is easy because when you move to Arsenal you are led there by your heart."
Van Persie is still out after damaging his ankle on international duty back in November but could yet feature before the end of the season.
But he believes his awful injury record may prevent him becoming a great player.
He added: "When you look at great players, they are always fit, always sharp.
"When you play 50 games a season, you can score more goals and get more assists, so it follows that you are more important to the team.
"Everything starts with your fitness and some players are lucky like that. I hate it but I can't do anything about it because this is my situation."
www.newsoftheworld.co.uk
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For somebody who has been through the rough and tumble of English Premier League for six years, Robin van Persie comes across as surprisingly frail. What's more, he has the long fingers of a painter.
Coming from the land of Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch star's parents are also painters who wanted him to take up the vocation when he was a kid. "No, I didn't paint, but I am as creative as them," he said, breaking into a shy smile.
His fans would readily agree, for while the 27 year old may not conform to the label of a football intellectual, van Persie is already considered one of the most gifted players of his generation.
While his Arsenal teammates were bracing for a crucial encounter against Chelsea on the weekend, a debilitating ankle injury that he picked up late last year allowed him to take time out for a trip to the city of their sponsors: Emirates airline.
As an overcast morning panned out at the sprawling Sevens, the sporting facility of Emirates, it was not only tiny tots of the Arsenal Soccer School who gained from van Persie's company and expert tips.
A man with more than 200 appearances for Arsenal and 40 international caps for the Netherlands, van Persie is what you can call a sponsors' delight. A predator on the field with boyish good looks, but one with no qualms about giving into requests for a seemingly endless number of interview requests from the media apart from, of course, posing for photos, signing team shirts and all the works.
On the one hand, he is politically correct so as not to comment on the John Terry issue ("We do not play in the same club and I don't know what the situation is"), but his sense of commitment to causes that matter to him are strong.
Opening up to Gulf News, he said his immediate priority is to be fit again and help Arsenal towards the closing stages of the league. Van Persie is also painfully aware of his country's "under-achievers" tag in the World Cup and Euro championships.
"The expectations are huge," he said. "We have not done much after making the two finals in '74 and '78. To succeed in the World Cup, it depends on so many things. We have the quality to do so this time, but let's see," said van Persie, for whom this would be the second World Cup finals after 2006.
Branded as the "Brazil of Europe" for the flair that they bring to their game, the Dutch have never been short on legends be it Johan Cryuff, Marco van Basten or, in recent times, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
"The reality is you need some huge success for people to remember you as greats. For example, the trio of Ruud Gullit, van Basten and Frank Rijkaard are like folk heroes in our country because of their triumph in the '88 Euro Championship," van Persie said, betraying a burning desire to leave his mark in the Hall of Fame of his country's football.
Injuries are the worst nightmare of a professional athlete, and van Persie is no different. In his desperation to speed up the recovery of the ruptured ligaments that he suffered in the ankle during an international friendly against Italy, he dashed off to Belgrade for the controversial horse placenta treatment.
Evasive if it had worked well for him, van Persie now seems to be living in that zone of uncertainty as to when he can set foot on the pitch in a competitive game.
"I don't even want to think about the World Cup now," he said, perhaps revealing a fear in his subconscious about not being able to take part in the showpiece.
"It's the first one in Africa and it will be a completely new experience. To predict anything is really hard… take the last Euro, where no one really expected Spain to play so well. There could be some surprises again," he said.
Having joined Arsenal in 2004, he is already one of the young veterans there along with inspirational captain Cesc Fabregas.
Asked if he is looking to emulate one of his all-time heroes, Dennis Bergkamp, in the jersey of the north London club, van Persie said: "Well, it's been six years for me, but his 11 years for one club is very long. I still have three and-a-half years of contract left and then only I will know."
"A footballer's best years are between 20 and 30. We have the players like Fabregas, [Samir] Nasri… we have our own way of playing football and hopefully, should be able to win a few big ones before going out," he added almost wistfully.
A father of two, van Persie said he really enjoyed sharing some of his time with the trainees at the soccer school.
"The idea is to help them live the dream. As a professional footballer, you can help them a little bit… put a hand on their shoulder and listen to their questions. Footballing kids, mind you, are always looking for answers as they grow up."
www.gulfnews.com
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Gulfnews.com added a video from Robin's visit at Dubai online. You can watch the video here.
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Dubai : Robin Van Persie, the Dutch star of Arsenal, refused to put a date on his comeback from a serious ankle injury sustained last November.
"It's been the last two days that I have started jogging, but it's still early to say as to when exactly I can be back on the pitch," he said.
Speaking yesterday during a visit to the Arsenal Soccer School located at The Sevens, the sports facility of Emirates airline, Van Persie did not hide his disappointment in not being able to take part in the Gunners' recent purple patch in the Premiership.
"There is nothing I can do about it. At this point, I can say that my recovery is right on schedule but the injury has been quite bad. I would, however, like to be part of the team's campaign in the later stages of the league or if we are still there in Champions League," said Van Persie, whose soft-spoken demeanour belies the power that he packs behind those bullet shots.
After being written off in the initial months of the campaign, Arsenal have clawed their way back into the Premiership title race with a series of stunning results and face leaders Chelsea in a must-win match today.
Asked if the team's resurgence vindicates coach Arsene Wenger's policy of youth, one of his trusted lieutenants couldn't agree more.
"It's not only about youth, he [Wenger] is a lover of football. He goes around picking up footballers from England as well as abroad who he feels can play the game our way. He believed in us," he observed.
Emirates, sponsors of Arsenal since 2004, flew him into the city on Tuesday as a prelude to a major announcement — the company is starting daily flights from Amsterdam to Dubai from May 1.
Robin Van Persie was in no mood to get involved in the controversy surrounding John Terry, the deposed England captain and Chelsea star. Replying to a Gulf News query, he said: "Its's not my situation, nor do I play in the same team as him."
When asked if he was sympathetic to Terry, being a subject of media intrusions himself in the past, the Dutchman offered: "I agree but I don't know what happened in this case. I would not like to comment on this."
www.gulfnews.com
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Robin Van Persie is likely to give Arsenal's title hopes a huge boost with a return to fitness in the middle of March, rather than the date of mid-April which had been previously forecast.
The Holland striker, who ruptured ankle ligaments against Italy in November, returned last week to training at Arsenal and is now walking freely again.
And though his club manager, Arsene Wenger, has cautiously set April as a projected return date, doctors in Holland connected to the national team expect him to be ready to play in seven weeks.
That would mean Van Persie would be able to take part in the vital title run-in and participate in the Champions League quarter-finals if Arsenal eliminate Porto in the last 16.
Although the Dutch are keen for Van Persie to play against the USA in a friendly in March, there is no chance of Arsenal releasing the player, given the acrimony between club and country over how the injury was treated in the first instance.
www.dailymail.co.uk
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Today, there's a big radio and TV show in Holland to raise money for the foundations who give help to Haïti. The big radio stations are working together for Radio 555 and tonight there's a big TV show on the Dutch television. Bouchra called this afternoon Radio 555 because she and Robin wanted to sell 2 tickets for Arsenal - Manchester United and a signed shirt for Giro 555. The first caller who offered 2500 euro's got the tickets and the shirt.
We think everyone should support the foundations who give help to Haïti in their country!
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Robin Van Persie is doing as well as can be expected in his recovery from ankle surgery.
That's the verdict of Arsène Wenger, who has been without the Dutch forward since he suffered ligament damage during an international friendly against Italy in November.
Wenger predicted last month that Van Persie would be out for "virtually the rest of the season". That is still the case even though the 26-year-old is making steady progress in his rehabilitation.
"He has come back [to the training ground] and is doing as well as you can at that stage," said Wenger after the Bolton game.
"He is out of his boot and walks normally but he thinks he will be playing mid-April."
www.arsenal.com
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We want to wish all our visitors a Happy New Year! We hope this will be a fantastic year for Robin, Arsenal and Holland!
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