- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants skipper Robin van Persie to stay at the club for the rest of his career.
The Dutch striker took his tally for 2011 to 30 goals with a brace as the Gunners came from behind to win 2-1 at Norwich on Saturday.
"Robin has some competitors there but he is one of the best of course," said the Frenchman.
"He is exceptional and has something that you cannot give to people.
"For the second goal, he finished with a chip on his right foot - and I have never seen a bigger left-footed player than Robin van Persie.
"He always makes the right decisions in a fraction of a second when there is little time available, that makes him exceptional."
The 28 year old has yet to commit his long-term future to the Gunners, with indications the Holland striker is unlikely to start any contract talks under the end of the season.
Wenger said: "My dream is that van Persie stays until the end of his career at this club.
"I will do the maximum I can to try to convince him and I hope I will manage to do that."
- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has warned his players not to get carried away with their recent run of form.
Saturday's comeback at Carrow Road against Norwich was another notch on the post for Wenger’s side - but the boss won’t be getting carried away anytime soon.
“We have some way to go to show that this is the right way,” he said. “That's why I wanted to see at the end of the season how far we can go.
“I am very positive. How much do we want to be successful? That's what we want to show in the coming months. I feel the team wants it, but that is what is in front of us now.
“Five weeks ago we were 17th in the league and I had to answer a question about whether I thought we would battle relegation.
“At the time I said no but in football things change quickly. We are back in a stronger position.
“Now let's continue to develop because we need to become stronger to come back to the top.”
- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is happy with his big lads.
Wenger has seen his backline concede just seven goals in their last eight matches in all competitions, and believes his side’s height advantage is paying dividends.
“One of the advantages - I said before the game - is that I have not seen such a tall Arsenal team at the back,” he said.
“You have Koscielny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen and Santos who are tall.
“I look a bit lost because there are no small players in there.”
- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger feels Per Mertesacker can progress just as Laurent Koscielny has since his arrival 18 months ago.
Team-mate Koscielny has impressed supporters and media alike this year with his performances this season, and, given time, Wenger says Mertesacker can emulate his French counterpart.
“He had not completely recovered [from the internationals],” Wenger said. “It is a different game in England, a very demanding game for the defender.
“In every second of the game you are really tested with full commitment, and it takes some time to adapt.
“We have seen that with [Laurent] Koscielny, who played at right-back and was exceptional.
“Last year he would not have delivered this kind of performance because you learn that from fighting in every game. That is why it is so difficult to buy defenders from abroad.”
- Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is eyeing a January return to action.
Wilshere, 19, has not played since June when he was in the England team that drew 2-2 with Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.
He was found to have a serious ankle injury that required surgery and for two months he wore a surgical boot. But his recuperation has gone well and his return has been penciled in for the New Year.
Arsenal have a reserve game on January 24 at Fulham. That’s been billed as his comeback game.
If there are no setbacks, he will be available for the knockout stages of the Champions League (if they qualify) and their push for a top four finish.
- Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky says their improvement has come from them defending better as a team.
Ahead of their trip to Norwich City, Rosicky says the squad is keen to get back to domestic duties.
“We are looking forward to the next month because we are back on track again and have some positive results behind us,” he said.
“Sometimes when new faces come in you need time to gel and I think the last month was much better from us. We were good defensively and much more compact. I think we will show that in the coming months as well.
“I wouldn't say just the midfield, it's the whole squad as a unit that have defended better,” he added. “I wouldn't pick out one particular part, it's the whole team that has gelled together. Hopefully we can continue to do that.”
- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was shocked when Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri quit the club forBarcelona and Manchester City in the summer.
Wenger's friends concede that he was shaken by the events of the summer when Nasri and Fabregas quit the club, despite the manager believing he could persuade at least one of them to stay.
It was this as well as an unwillingness to compromise Arsenal's negotiating positions which led Wenger to delay signing replacements, such as Santi Carzola, who moved to Malaga instead ofArsenal, and Juan Mata, who eventually joined Chelsea.
- Borussia Dortmund whiz Mario Gotze remains a major January target for Arsenal.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and his chief negotiator Richard Law will speak with officials from the Bundesliga club about their ambition to land Gotze.
An Arsenal scout will watch Dortmund's match at Bayern Munich today with a view to gaining vital information before Wednesday's clash and to monitor the talented midfielder's progress.
Gotze would cost at least £20million, which would smash the club's transfer record.
- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he won't be moving for Bolton Wanderers defender Gary Cahill in January.
Wenger admits to still being an admirer of Cahill, but insists he has no intention of testing Bolton's resolve during the winter transfer window.
"Cahill is good enough to play Champions League, but he is not someone I would be interested in," said Wenger.
"We were in the market in the summer, but at that time they [Bolton] were greedy."
"I have got five central defenders - [Laurent] Koscielny, [Sebastien] Squillaci, Mertesacker, [Thomas] Vermaelen and [Johan] Djourou. Of this five, four are international players.
"We were in the market in the summer, but at that time they [Bolton] were greedy."
- Premier League clubs are circling Palermo for midfielder Josip Ilicic.
Palermo have put a £30million price tag on Ilicic as Premier League clubs step up their interest.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder has only been in Italy for 14 months after joining for £2.3m from Maribor but Chelsea and Arsenal have all been represented at recent games, including Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Juventus.
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