Arsenal have scored 23 goals so far this season in the Premier League. In those 12 games Robin van Persie has scored 13 and assisted three. The Arsenal talisman has scored more goals than the rest of his team mates put together.

Those statistics prove one thing; just how important van Persie is to Arsenal and to Arsene Wenger.

At the weekend he broke the 30 goal barrier for a calendar year, making him one of only five players to achieve such a feat. He has managed to score 31 goals in just 29 appearances in 2011, averaging a goal every 1.07 games for the Gunners. With seven matches still to be played in this calendar year, if van Persie can keep up his record he will not only better Arsenal legend Thierry Henry who scored 34 goals in 39 games in 2004, he will also eclipse the record that’s held by Alan Shearer, who in 1995 managed to bag 42 goals in 36 appearances.

The most important point-to-notes that always gets brought up when you hear about RVP, is injuries. Twelve games into the season he looks sharp, healthy and 100% fit. If Arsenal can keep his fitness levels like this and van Persie remains injury-free then there is no reason that he can’t go on and continue to be this season’s top scorer in the league as well as helping Arsenal build on all the cup competitions they remain in.

On current form, Robin van Persie is one of the best strikers in Europe, if not the world and right now his confidence must be on an all-time high. He’ll be looking to continue his magnificent form so that he is chosen by the national coach Bert van Marwijk for the upcoming European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine. Van Persie helped Holland get there with his contribution in the qualifiers, scoring six goals and setting up another two, as they finished top of their group.

Maybe the one thing that will be in the back of van Persie’s mind will be his age. He is not getting any younger. The striker is now 28 years old and will be thinking he’s only managed to win three pieces of silverware in his ten year career. He won his most prestigious medal, the UEFA Cup, at his previous club, Feyenoord and has only managed to pick up a winners medal twice at Arsenal. In 2004, he helped the Gunners to the Community Shield and then won the FA Cup in 2005.

He’s yet to win the Champions League or even claim a league winner’s medal in any country. Some think it makes sense for RVP to leave and go to an Italian or Spanish side to gain some success in the major European competitions and even to gain a league winners medal. Another reason to depart, may be the uncertainty surrounding Arsene Wenger, who in the last week was rumoured yet again to be considering leaving the Emirates.

If Arsene is to stay on next season and sign a new contract to stay on for the long run at Arsenal then this is a problem that Wenger knows he needs to pinch in the bud as quickly as possible. The fact that van Persie’s contract finishes in 2013, with the transfer window coming up and with such little time left on his contract, will Arsenal be lured by big bids for him when they come around? Can they risk losing him for nothing when his contract expires? Or can Wenger get the Dutchman to sign a new contract?

The questions remain unanswered, but at the moment one thing is for sure. Arsenal need Robin van Persie. Without him and his goals and assists so far this season they’d be sitting on eleven points, just two above the drop zone.

Photo courtesy of Ronnie Macdonald.