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Date of birth: 6 August 1983
Place of birth: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height: 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position: Forward/Winger/Attacking midfielder
2001–2004: Feyenoord (59 appearances, 15 goals)
2004–present: Arsenal
Robin van Persie; born 6 August 1983 is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Arsenal and the Dutch national team. He is a youth product of Feyenoord. Having joined Arsenal in 2004, van Persie has since become the club captain on 16 August 2011. His playing style and ability have drawn comparison to Dutch legend Marco van Basten.
The son of two artists, van Persie was encouraged to follow in his parents' footsteps, but he instead preferred football and joined SBV Excelsior's youth squad.He made his breakthrough at his hometown club Feyenoord, where he spent three seasons and won the 2002 UEFA Cup. He was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year for the 2001–02 season. Disagreements with coach Bert van Marwijk culminated in a change of club and van Persie moved to Premier League side Arsenal for £2.75 million in 2004 as a long-term replacement for Dennis Bergkamp He won the FA Community Shield and the FA Cup in his first season with the London club and went on to win the 2006 Rotterdam Sportsman of the year award. Van Persie has been named Premier League Player of the Month twice. Van Persie topped the goal assists leader board with 11 assists in the 2008–09 Premier League. Prior to playing for the senior team,van Persie was a Dutch Youth International.He played for Netherlands at 2004 and 2006 European U-21 Championship qualifying.van Persie made his senior international debut in 2005 in a friendly match against Romania.One month later, he netted his first senior international goal in a 4–0 win over Finland.Van Persie has over 50 caps and has scored 25 goals for the Netherlands. He has participated in the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euro 2008.
On 8 May 2011, Arsenal lost 3–1 against Stoke at Britannia Stadium, van Persie scored the goal for Arsenal and with that goal van Persie extended his Premier League record by scoring in an eighth successive away match. On the last home game for the season van Persie scored against Aston Villa, but Arsenal lost the match 2–1. On the last game of the season away to Fulham, van Persie managed to score in his ninth consecutive away match, bringing his goal tally for the season to a personal record of 18 league goals. He also equalled the record held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry by scoring 18 league goals from the turn of the year to the end of the season. He ended the season just two goals behind joint league top scorers, Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov in the race for the golden boot. He was voted as the second best player of the 2010–11 season on Arsenal's official website and also received the team's Goal of the Season award for his audacious strike in the 2–1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League. Having been appointed vice-captain for the 2010–11 season, van Persie was promoted to club captain following the transfer of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona at the start of the 2011–12 season.
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ANDREI ARSHAVIN
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Date of birth: 29 May 1981
Place of birth: Leningrad, Soviet Union
Height: 1.72 m
Playing position: Winger, Attacking midfielder
2000–2008: Zenit St. Petersburg (236 appearances; 53 goals)
2009–present: Arsenal
Andrei Sergeyevich Arshavin, born 29 May 1981 is an association footballer who plays for the English Premier League team Arsenal and captains the Russian national team. He has won both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup with Zenit.
The 2006 Russian footballer of the year is a versatile attacking midfielder who can also play as a second striker. Arshavin gained international attention during his breakthrough performance at the UEFA Euro 2008 championship in Austria-Switzerland which resulted in his inclusion in the Team of the Tournament.
Signing for Arsenal in 2009, Arshavin enjoyed a successful start to his career with the Gunners, becoming Premier League Player of the Month in April 2009 and Arsenal's player of the month in March and April 2009. During the 2008–09 season, he scored six goals in 12 league appearances for Arsenal. In a match against Liverpool, Arshavin became the first player to score four league goals at Anfield since 1946. Shortly after his transfer to the club, former Arsenal forward Dennis Bergkamp speculated that Arshavin has "every chance of becoming a favourite of the London fans".
Arshavin made his debut for Arsenal against Sunderland on 21 February 2009 in the Premier League. The game ended 0–0, though Arshavin was unlucky not to score in the game, coming close twice. On 3 March 2009, Arshavin made his first telling contribution to a Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion by setting up a goal for Kolo Touré in the 38th minute via a free-kick, the second goal in a 3–1 victory. On 14 March 2009, Arshavin scored his first Arsenal goal in a very tight angle going solo against Blackburn Rovers in the 65th minute of the game. He later provided an assist to Emmanuel Eboué for the third goal of the game, which ended 4–0 to Arsenal. Arshavin took his goal tally in an Arsenal shirt to two after scoring his first ever away goal against Wigan Athletic in a 4–1 victory on 11 April 2009.
On 16 February 2011, Arshavin scored as Arsenal beat Barcelona for the first time in their history in a 2–1 win in the Champions League round of 16. This was Arshavin's first Champions League goal for Arsenal that is not from the group stage. The very next day, Johan Djourou stated that "Arshavin showed he is a great player", because of his winning goal and his rising performance from his recent dip in form. On 20 February 2011, Arsenal faced Leyton Orient for The FA Cup fifth-round, a 1–1 draw in which Arshavin won the Man of the Match award for best performance by Arsenal fans for the fourth time, even though he did not score, though he did come close numerous times. Arshavin's next Premier League goal was away to West Bromwich Albion, bringing the score to 2–1 after WBA had earlier taken a 2–0 lead. He also provided the cross for Robin Van Persie's late equaliser in that game.
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THEO WALCOTT
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Date of birth: 16 March 1989
Place of birth: Stanmore, London, England
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position: Winger, Forward
2004–2006: Southampton (21 appearances; 4 goals)
2006–present: Arsenal
Theo James Walcott is an English footballer of Jamaican descent who plays for Arsenal and the England national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton F.C. Academy. He is a striker who is usually deployed on the right wing as a wide forward. Walcott won the prestigious BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2006.
He was the subject of worldwide media attention, following his shock inclusion to the 2006 English World Cup squad. On 30 May 2006, Walcott became England's youngest ever senior football player with an age of 17 years and 75 days. On 6 September 2008, he made his first competitive start in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra, and in the following match against Croatia on 10 September he opened his senior international goals tally and became the youngest player in history to score a hat-trick for England.
Walcott is well known for his blistering pace, with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola declaring that “you would need a pistol to stop him”. He has been likened by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger to Walcott's former teammate and captain, Thierry Henry. FIFA World Player of the Year winner Lionel Messi has described Walcott as "one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against".
Walcott's start to the 2010–11 season was particularly successful, winning EA SPORTS Player of the Month in August by a landslide. On 21 August 2010, Walcott scored the first hat-trick of his club career after he netted three against newly promoted Blackpool in a 6–0 home win, coming in just the second game of the new season. At the beginning of the 2010–11 season Walcott had a remarkably high goalscoring record; after playing Newcastle on 28 October 2010, it was calculated that Walcott had scored an average of 1 goal for every 48 minutes of playing time. On 27 December 2010, he scored a goal and made an assist to help beat Chelsea 3–1 in a crucial win which, according to manager, Arsène Wenger was a "must-win" game.
On 16 August, Walcott scored his first goal of the season in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Udinese, giving a vital 1–0 win to Arsenal to carry on into the second leg of the tie. Walcott scored again in the second leg and helped Arsenal secure qualification for the lucrative group stage of the competition for the 14th straight season. In the 8–2 defeat at Manchester United, Walcott scored the first Arsenal goal of their 2011-12 Premier League campaign.
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