Wenger desperate to keep RVP

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is aware his club must hang onto the services of star striker Robin van Persie.

The Dutchman scored a brace in Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Liverpool on Saturday, with his second being a superbly struck volley in injury time.

Van Persie – who has scored 25 goals in the English Premier League this season – will have his contract expire at the end of the 2012-13 season and has not yet begun negotiations to pen a new deal.

“We will do anything possible to keep him,” Wenger said.

“I cannot say much more because I have said that many times. I am very proud that he has grown, having seen the boy arrive here timid and today being the player he is and the leader of the team he has become.”

“He is playing under big pressure in every game because he knows he has to score – that is excellent development not only as a player but as a human being. He is up there among the best players in the world.”

Wenger also praised goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny for his performance, with the Polish shot-stopper putting in an outstanding game that included a double-save to deny Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt from the penalty spot.

“It is good he had a performance like that because he had a little bit of a difficult period in January but he has shown his potential and I like he was brave as well – he had a lot of kicking and coming out to do – and he didn’t make a mistake,” Wenger said.

“He is 21 years old and is a great talent. He is just learning his job but because he is a great talent he learns quickly.”

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was happy with his side’s performance, but not the result.

The penalty Liverpool missed was their sixth of the season and they hit the woodwork for the 21st occasion as their season of bad luck continued.

“If you want to gauge it on points then it is a big disappointment but if you want to gauge it on performance I think they were fantastic,” Dalglish said.

“I think we are competitive all right. I think those stats tell you we are attack-minded and can create chances and get penalties – the next bit is to be ugly and get a winning goal.”

“There was always some scepticism to us winning a trophy (Carling Cup) the week before and how they would react and respond and I think they showed that with the way they played.”

“To come away without three points is disappointing. The performance was outstanding – if we get a bit of luck it will make a difference to us.”