No More Excuses – It’s Time For Robin Van Persie To Start Showing His Arsenal Form For The Netherlands

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World Cup finalists Netherlands were dealt a huge blow on the injury front on Monday when prolific striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a knee injury.

Many will argue that the absence of Huntelaar isn’t too much of a loss for Oranje as they have plenty of alternatives.

However, the Schalke striker is not only Holland’s first choice striker at the moment, but he’s also the leading goalscorer in the Euro 2012 qualifiers with eight goals in four games.

One of the few players who probably won’t be too disappointed with the absence of Huntelaar is Arsenal attacker Robin van Persie. The former Feyenoord star will obviously be sad to see a team-mate struggle with injury, but Huntelaar’s knee problems also mean that Van Persie will get the chance to prove his worth again as Oranje’s frontman.

The 27-year-old was Netherlands’ No. 9 at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but Van Persie never really managed to convince last summer. He found the net only once in seven appearances and many started to doubt the attacker’s ability to deliver the goods for the national side like he does at club level.

After a disappointing World Cup campaign, Van Persie’s 2010-11 season started in miserable fashion as well. The attacker sustained a serious injury in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in August and he didn’t return to full match fitness until late November. Van Persie has since been in superb form though and has been one of the key reasons behind the Gunners’ relatively good performances. The forward is his side’s leading goalscorer in the Premier League and has also scored in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup.

Van Persie’s good form at club level this term is certainly no accident as the Dutch attacker has developed into one of the star players of Arsenal in the past couple of years. Nevertheless, despite being one of the top players at a big European club, Van Persie has yet to become a key player for Oranje.

The Rotterdam-born attacker made his debut for Holland in June 2005 and has since played at two World Cups and one European Championship. Van Persie is still no undisputed starter for the Dutch though, despite his 19 goals in 52 appearances.

One of the reasons for this is that the Arsenal forward has yet to find his perfect position in the Holland set-up. He’s played on both wings, as an attacking midfielder and as lone forward, but never really looked comfortable in any of those positions. Van Persie revealed ahead of the World Cup that he wants to play as a striker for Oranje, but he has yet to show that he’s the right man for the job.