Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has cited his "connection" with team-mate Theo Walcott as a key factor behind his stunning form this year.
After an electrifying end to last season, Van Persie has bagged 11 goals already during the current campaign and paid tribute to the playmaking skills of Walcott.
"After every single goal, people ask me, 'Who gave the assist?' I just say, 'Who do you think?' We have that connection," he told the Daily Mirror.
"I know what he is going to do, which is very important. "It's vital to have a player around me, as a striker, who knows where I move, how I move, do I want the ball into feet, do I want it behind. He knows where to find me. Stuff like that is vital."
Van Persie's goal against Bolton Wanderers in September was his 100th for the club and he made sure he celebrated the landmark with the former Southampton player.
"It was just a big honour and I asked Theo to celebrate with me," he said. "I had my history with Arsenal Football Club."
The 28-year old recalled his first goal in Arsenal colours, which came seven years ago against Manchester City.
"I lost it a bit," he said. "It was very good, it was very memorable. I went and celebrated with the wrong fans!"
One of his most fondly remembered strikes came in last season's Champions League, when Wenger's team beat Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium.
"I've seen images of fans celebrating that win," he said. "It just makes me really happy to see that.
"There's one picture in my mind of a fan dressed up with [an]
Arsenalshirt on, a hat on and he was just screaming it out!
"It was like the best moment of his life. It made me so happy. You could see what it meant to him and it made me even more happy to see that.
"When the whole stadium is desperate for a goal, as a footballer, when you are the one who scores it, then it gives you a boost."
The Netherlands international also declared himself "thankful" for the role of Gunners manager Arsene Wenger in his development as a player.
"I'm so thankful for having met him because he made a big difference in the way of seeing, looking at football," he said.
"I was 20 and he said, 'Why are you not a top player yet?' I said, 'Because of this, this and this.' He told me to think about it.
"Then, a couple of weeks later, he asked me, 'Are you a top player?' I said I didn't think so and he told me to think about it.
"I started to realise and then he gave me a little bit of advice about certain actions that I did.
"For example, I made a couple of little mistakes in a
game. He told me that a top player doesn't do those actions.
"I started to think about the conversation. It was a conversation that only lasted for five minutes, but it was a conversation that went on for a year because every couple of weeks he was referring back to it.
"He was showing me proof as well. I was taking it on and then it was up to me to find my answers. I was finding my own answers and that’s how he helped me big time."
Originally Posted by Ach
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