By MARK IRWIN
ARSENE WENGER is urging Arsenal supporters to respect Robin van Persie when the Gunners take on the former Emirates idol tomorrow.
Van Persie infuriated fans when he snubbed a new contract last summer in favour of a £22million move to Manchester United.
And the Dutch striker is already steeling himself for an angry reception from the away end at Old Trafford tomorrow.
Arsenal old boys Ashley Cole, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Adebayor all received dog’s abuse in recent years.
But Van Persie can expect even worse after publicly questioning the club’s ambition before joining their bitter rivals on a £200,000-a-week contract.
No wonder Wenger is appealing for calm as he tries to figure out a way of stopping the man who hit 37 goals for his team last season.
Arsenal boss Wenger said: “We cannot campaign against discrimination one week and then not ask for respect the following game. Robin van Persie played for us for eight years, he did very well for us and I want him to be respected.
“I don’t know what the Arsenal fans will do but I think he will get the reception I hope for.
“Van Persie is certainly the most efficient striker in the Premier League right now so I am not surprised at how quickly he has scored goals for Manchester United.
“He has many good players around him and he is very intelligent around the box. His runs are fantastic and his technique is absolutely amazing.
“United have a lot of players in attacking positions so with his intelligent movement of course he will take advantage of that.”
Rather than resent the manner of Van Persie’s acrimonious departure, Wenger prefers to take pride in a young man who arrived at Arsenal as damaged goods and blossomed into one of the finest strikers in world football.
The Frenchman added: “Part of my job as a manager is to have a positive influence on people’s lives.And when you manage to do that, you are always kind of satisfied.
“I think my influence on Robin was not too bad but we will only know how much United have benefited from his presence at the end of the season. Seeing him move to another English club was not exactly what I wished for but this match is not all about Robin van Persie.
“At Arsenal we do not even talk about him because I am focused on doing well with the players I have.
“To start thinking about how much we miss Robin will not help us.”
Van Persie, 29, has netted nine goals for United already. But Arsenal have not exactly been short of firepower without him and Theo Walcott’s hat-trick in Tuesday’s stunning 7-5 League Cup win at Reading has given Wenger plenty of food for thought.
England forward Walcott, 23, is refusing to sign a new contract without a guarantee that he will be allowed to play through the middle rather than out wide in future.
Wenger added: “I have always said it is important that Theo plays in the right position and that certainly would be through the middle in the future. He showed that again on Tuesday.
“Theo loves to score goals, he has good pace, makes excellent, intelligent runs and what has changed about him is he has become a very good finisher.”
At least Wenger has no such concerns about the long-term future of Jack Wilshere, who is finally back in action after 17 months sidelined following a stress fracture in an ankle.
The Emirates boss said: “Jack can cope with all the expectations because the one thing he has learned during that long spell out is that 17 months in the life of a young boy is massive.
“So I just want Jack to enjoy playing again. He is a boy who just loves to play and the most important thing is to keep that happiness on the pitch.
“Saturday is a very important game for us away to one of the big teams of the Premier League.
“We have already taken points away at Liverpool and Manchester City this season, so if we win this game we will come closer to Manchester United and we’ll have played nearly all the big teams away.”
