Evra hails ´perfect´ Van Persie

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra believes Robin van Persie is ‘perfect’ for the club.

The France international considers the club’s new arrival to have slotted into the squad seamlessly, adding that the Dutchman’s hunger and tenacity to work for the team has allowed him to blend in quickly.

Van Persie already has 14 goals to his name in the current campaign, with his late free-kick winning the Manchester derby on Sunday.

“Robin is perfect for Manchester United,” Evra told talkSPORT. “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.”

The 31-year-old full-back also insisted that Wayne Rooney is still essential to the team, dismissing reports that the forward has lost his ability to score this season, pointing towards his recent rich vein of form.

“A lot of people criticised Wayne at the beginning of the season, asking why he didn’t score so many goals,” Evra said.

“Last week he scored two goals. Today (Sunday) he got two again. He is a really important player for us.”

Evra was also glad to see a former Red Devil left on the bench, as City’s Mario Balotelli was favoured to Carlos Tevez during the derby.

“Tevez caused us problems when he came on,” Evra said. “I told him before the game that I was really happy he was not going to start.

“It was a good sign for us. When he came on he put pressure on every defender and chased everywhere.”