Very few people have received the kind of adoration that Cesc Fabregas has generated in the past few years as Arsenal's king pin. But of late the player who has really answered the call is his team mate Robin Van Persie.

Arsenal have a great relationship with dutch football - embodied in the words Dennis and Bergkamp. And after a few years of injury interruptions and indifferent form, Van Persie is starting to fill the large gap left by Bergkamp.

Dutch forwards seem to be a breed that have much in common. Intelligent, with a mean streak and great vision. And not always the best team-skills. You could say this about Van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben, Dennis Bergkamp and occasionally about Van Persie. But this year Van Persie has started to play a greater role within the embattled Arsenal team. When people have been going into meltdown around him, and have fallen out and fallen over, he has kept going.

Nobody gave Arsenal a chance against Chelsea at Stamford bridge and when Chelsea scored, it was only a confirmation of the expected. But then in a 5 minute spell, Van Persie broke through the Chelsea twice to change the nature of the game and hand the points to Arsenal. The first goal was opportunistic and a little bit lucky - as he could rightfully have been called offside. But the second was pure class.

And again, verus Liverpool, it was the classy Van Persie who propelled Arsenal into the lead with an expert take down and beating Reina at the near post. Although Liverpool equalized, as Adebayor was sent off, it was a hard won point.

And much more recently, against Hull, with the scores on 1-1, it was Van Persie who turned playmaker setting up Nasri and Bendtner for the late goals that settled the game. Its this aspect of his game that has come on hugely this year. He was always a good predator with a turn of speed, and very quick feet, but his ability to play in others and be the link up player has given him a very valuable additional dimension.

And almost suddenly suddenly Van Persie seems to have become one of the best dead-ball strikers around as well. More accurate than Ronaldo, and consistently on target - and that's yet another feather in his cap. Very rarely does he fail to test the goalkeeper. He doesn't make a big deal of it but there's almost always power and a vicious curve on the ball.

There were years when the only question was how much time would he spend on the treatment table. Occasional goals were interspesed with frequent absences. This year, he jointly heads the goal scorer list with 12 in all competitions and has been one of the most consistent players in the Arsenal team. And he has gone about doing the business despite all the shenanigans in the Arsenal dressing room which have affected their performance.

It's always a mistake to confer upon anybody the mantel of a past great, so to call him the next Dennis Bergkamp would be folly. But if anybody has shown signs of playing the game the way the great Bergkamp did, of late, it has been Van Persie. A predator and now a man with footballing vision as well.

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