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“Van Persie is a total footballer, a very complete forward and capable of scoring lots of goals.
– Lionel Messi on Van Persie
“I think he’s great for the whole team; he’s our talisman. He has a calmness about him, he holds the ball up well and brings players into play. We have to try and get players around him. He’s a fantastic player and he’s a great lad to have around the squad.
– Wayne Rooney quotes about his pal Van Persie
“For me, to be honest, he is the best striker in the world.
– Michu
“The problem with Robin is you never know where he is going to put the ball. It is so hard even when you know him well you can’t work him out. Even though he is an opponent he is a joy to watch. He can only help to make you better because you have to be on the top of your game against him. Otherwise you can see what happens. It is a shame he doesn’t play for us.”
– Michael Vorm
“He was one of the best I ever managed, a man with an exceptional technique.
– Arsene Wenger quotes on Robin van Persie
“Van Persie had the best movement. When he was at Arsenal and he won the Golden Boot, he had the most movement I’d ever seen. Even in his first year at Manchester United, that’s why they won the league, because he scored all the goals.”
– Romelu Lukaku
“Personally, when we played against Arsenal in London, I saw the best forward ever: Robin van Persie. I didn’t know a player could play three positions during 90 minutes. It was a great experience – and we want to use that now.”
– Jurgen Klopp on Van Persie
“Van Persie has done it for years at Arsenal. He’s a top player and I love watching him”
“You take away [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo and Van Persie is probably the best player in the world. He was playing wide for Arsenal for many years and getting a few injury problems but moving central means there is a bit less running and he can use his technique and finishing, which is just incredible. He is a joy to watch and a pain to play against.”
– Joe Cole
“We all knew what he was capable of but you don’t realise sometimes when you play against someone, how good a player they are. [You don’t realise] until you’re training with them every day and playing with them every week and that is definitely the case with Robin. He’s just a brilliant player.”
– Ryan Giggs
“Every year Van Persie just gets better and better. His finishing is clinical, he brings people into play, he never wastes the ball and he loves having it at his feet. He’s a special footballer.
– Jamie Redknapp
“Everything Van Persie does is quality and class. Even if he just holds the ball up he makes it look simple.
“We all know what level Robin van Persie is at. What he did with Arsenal – not many players can reach that level. Obviously he went to Manchester United, and you’re expecting him to take a little bit of time to settle in. But he proves everyone wrong.
– Roberto Martinez
“I remember Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger saying to me ‘he’s better than you think’ when we concluded the deal. He was right. In terms of impact he has had as big an impact as anyone I can imagine.
“Robin van Persie is quite simply a wonderful player. In my opinion, he’s right on the top of the chain, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He’s one of the best players in the World”
– Ray Parlour
“To be honest, I wouldn’t want to play against Robin because he’s such a good player”
– Cesc Fabregas
“He was actually a better player than I thought he was when he arrived at Manchester United – I had played against him many times vs Arsenal, so I knew he was good but not this good.
“As a player he is so silky to watch, great touch, can hold the ball up & bring others into play, timings of his runs, skills & a dream of a left foot….oh and he can finish!”
– Rio Ferdinand’s Robin van Persie quotes
“Robin is perfect for Manchester United. When he scored the hat-trick at Southampton he also missed a penalty. The first thing he said when he came back to the dressing room was that he was really sorry for missing the penalty. That shows the hunger, humility and personality he has to win trophies. He is not just scoring for himself. He really wants the team to win something.
– Patrice Evra’s Robin van Persie quotes
“Now at Arsenal Robin van Persie is above everyone and I think in the Premier League he is the best player this season.
– Yossi Benayoun in 2012
“World-class players have got a presence. When the ball came to Robin for his first goal on Sunday, I was so confident it was going to be a goal. To have someone like that in your team is satisfying because you know if you supply him with the right ammunition, more often than not, he will put it away.”
– Michael Carrick’s Robin van Persie quotes
“We all know how good he is. Robin keeps performing and scoring goals, making the difference. For me, it is just such a natural talent. Sometimes he looks as if he does not try, but beats players and scores an unbelievable goal. Robin is on fire, he is making the difference.
– Mikel Arteta
“He [Van Persie] is a great guy and I have a huge amount of respect for him. I remember him saying ‘live your life right and your time will come. Keep working hard, you’re a good player, you’re strong and quick and you can score goals. Just keep wanting to learn and improve and have confidence. When you are 18 or 19 and you hear that from the best striker in the Premier League at the time, it is great. He was such a good role model in how he lives, not just on the pitch but with how he looked after young players like me.”
– Benik Afobe quotes on van Persie
“The only thing you know is ‘world class’. When I was a kid, in Germany they had three rankings: national class, international class and world class. At world class there were always only four or five players in that category but I would put van Persie into that calibre.
– Arsene Wenger’s Robin van Persie quotes
“It is was what separates the truly great players from the rest of us. In all my years as a professional I could never have scored a goal like that. He had a 1,000 things in his mind as the ball came to him, what was he going to do?”
– Jean-Paul Brigger on Van Persie’s great goal against Spain in 2014 World Cup
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