ARSENE WENGER: I CANT REST RORIN VAN PERSIE

ARSENE WENGER admits he is desperate to rest Arsenal captain Robin van Persie ' but simply cannot afford to.Striker Van Persie is set to face Stoke tomorrow in his 42nd game of 2011 for club and country.Yet the Dutchman's awesome strike rate of 28 goals in 35 games for the Gunners means Wenger is unable to give his injury-prone talisman a much-needed break.The Arsenal manager revealed: "On a Monday, I always decide to rest him and on Friday, I play him again."It is always a difficult decision to make but I'll have to do it at some stage. Robin has scored 28 goals in35 games so you always have that dilemma. But, as well, you know you cannot continue like that."In the last six months he has certainly been at his most efficient."You like Robin because he's not a typical goal-scorer. When you see him play it never comes to your mind that this guy is a goal-scorer."And then you look at the record and think he's not only a good playen he's a top-class goal-scorer as well."For all the other goal-scorers you do the opposite. You think they do not contribute too much to the game but they score the goals. For him it's the opposite. You look, see this is a good player'and then you see that he scores many goals as well."Van Persie, 28, took over the captaincy after Cesc Fabregas' summer departure to Barcelona, although Wenger admits he did not look a natural leader when he joined for a bargain 2.75miUion from Feyenoord seven years ago.
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