Wenger's gamble on kid who had troubled past

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Bad boy: Van Persie has never been too far away from the headlines

Arsenal's Dutch striker Robin van Persie has been arrested in Rotterdam on suspicion of rape. The 21-year-old star is in police custody after being arrested on Monday and can be held for a maximum of three days before being charged.

Arsene Wenger always knew that signing Robin van Persie was a gamble. Even before the youngster arrived at Highbury, leading members of Holland's football federation had warned there could be trouble ahead.

But the Frenchman judged that getting a player with the potential to succeed Dennis Bergkamp for just £2.75million from Feyenoord was worth the risk.

After a year of sublime skill and scrapes, the Arsenal manager was bound to run through his calculations again this summer as he builds for the future.

And although Van Persie could have become the latest victim of unfounded rape allegations, today's controversy nevertheless provides another black mark against his name.

Van Persie was arrested yesterday in Holland on suspicion of rape and was being held in police custody pending an investigation.

The timing of the allegations are all the more unfortunate given that he had just made a big breakthrough.

Van Persie made his debut for Holland last week in the World Cup qualifier against Romania and then came on to score against Finland in another qualifying match a few days later.

At Arsenal, his elevation to the international stage came as no surprise after the progress he made as a player this season.

Hailed as the new Bergkamp, he has managed to add an improved temperament to his undoubted sublime touch and eye for goal.

Early last season there was - as with any 21-year-old - a feeling of frustration at lack of first-team opportunities in the Premiership.

When the chance came as the hectic Christmas and New Year programme kicked in, he nearly blew it.

He was given his debut at Portsmouth in a 1-0 win. Much to the obvious frustration of Thierry Henry, the young Dutchman would try hard to impress as he started six of the next seven matches.

The obvious pass was often ignored as Van Persie went for the spectacular. He was left out for a four-game breather and came back at Southampton at the end of February - a watershed for the player.

Arsenal were comfortably ahead but it was a fiery game. Southampton's David Prutton had already been sent-off and at half-time, Wenger's message was clear - stay out of trouble. He made a special point of singling out Van Persie who was already on a yellow card. " Nothing stupid, Robin," he said.

That clearly went in one ear and out the other because within ten minutes, Van Persie had launched himself at Graeme Le Saux, earning himself a second yellow card and a dressing down from a furious Wenger.

The Arsenal manager admonished van Persie in the dressing room afterwards and privately at the London Colney training ground the following week. This time, Van Persie did listen.

"I know what I did was stupid and I heard what the manager had to say," he said later. "I worked on my temperament and I worked on my game and especially I watched Robert Pires. He knew when to run with the ball, when to pass the ball and when to try to beat a man. I learned a lot from that Southampton game."

From that moment on he went from strength to strength, with the highlight coming in the FA Cup semifinal against Blackburn when he scored two goals.

In Holland, they will tell you Van Persie's Jekyll and Hyde character has been obvious since he was young and made him a hate figure for many.

When he returned with Arsenal last summer for a pre-season tournament at Ajax, the former Feyenoord player was stopped on the road by fans who spat at him and kicked his car.

He feels unfairly treated at home and his slightly eccentric artist father, Bob van Persie, told Standard Sport shortly afterwards: "Robin has to be careful. People walking around in Amsterdam want to kill him and it is absurd. It is not like that with anyone else in Holland."

The threats have been serious enough in the past for the striker to ask a former professional Thai boxer friend to act as his minder and for Van Persie to marry his girlfriend Bouchra in secret last year.

But while the reaction to him is extreme, Van Persie is far from blameless. When he was just eight years old he started to get a reputation for turning his nose up at authority, ignoring instructions from his Excelsior Rotterdam coach.

Then at Feyenoord his hotheaded approach was firmly established when he was dropped for refusing to warm-up properly and allegedly stormed into the changing-room shouting abuse.

He reportedly had to be restrained by the physio and later, when back in the side, got a three-match ban for kicking a Utrecht player.

Van Persie's confidence even led him to walk out on the Holland team after being selected by new coach Marco van Basten. Drafted into the senior side at the start of a new era he was furious that he was asked to sit on the substitutes' bench.

Van Basten said: "He did not behave as we would expect. He needs to change his attitude."

The striker's arrogance is not obvious when you meet him. He has the confidence of many Dutch players but is softly-spoken, cheery and friendly.

But his background provides clues to the other side of his character.

Brought up by his divorced dad in Rotterdam's working-class district of Kralingen, much has been made of the fact he was hailed king of the cage.

In a hardcourt game where only the toughest survive, Van Persie's skills left many of his bulkier opponents embarrassed.

There he made lifelong friends, including his unofficial agent Sietje Moush, a former school cleaner.

When Van Persie was regularly thrown out of class he went to Moush, who was already in his 40s, and looked to him as a father figure.

He is understood to have played a part in converting the striker to Islam but does not appear to have done much to keep his confidence or attitude in check.

 

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