RvP as good as Messi?

The Gunners skipper continued his remarkable scoring streak with a brace in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night, leaving him with 12 goals in eight games, including 10 in his last five Premier League appearances.

The Dutchman has now scored 38 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions in 2011, prompting pundits to consider him amongst the game's very best.

Thirty nine per cent of voters on a poll on skysports.com went in favour of Van Persie when asked who they would rather have in their team on current form, just three per cent less than Lionel Messi.

The Gunners frontman attracted over twice as many voters as the world's most expensive player Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the Real Madrid star scoring six more goals in 2011.

Van Persie's scoring may be remarkable in the Premier League, with 13 goals in 12 games, but his tally in Europe is relatively modest in comparison to Messi.

The 28-year-old had netted just once in the UEFA Champions League prior to his brace on Wednesday night, which secured Arsenal's passage through to the knock-out stages, prompting Sky Bet to make him 16/1 to be the competition's top scorer.

Lionel Messi is the favourite to top the charts, at 4/5 with the online bookmaker, having already netted six times, the joint most alongside Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez, who is a 7/2 punt.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the third favourite at 4/1 to top score in Europe's premier competition despite only netting the same amount as the Arsenal captain.

Sky Bet's Premier League top scorer market paints a different picture however, with Van Persie 7/4 to remain in top spot having already netted 13 times, with Sergio Aguero 10/3 second favourite with 10 goals to his name.

It was not so long ago that Wayne Rooney was the fashionable frontman in England, with nine goals in his opening five games.

However, the Manchester United striker has endured a wretched run of late, failing to net in six Premier League games since, while his sending off in England's final Euro 2012 qualifier, which earned him a three-match ban for the finals, has cast a sorry shadow over his season.

Rooney is now 4/1 to be the top Premier League goal scorer and 18/1 to net most in the Champions League, with just three goals to his name in Europe this term.

While the likes of Messi, Rooney and Ronaldo will be looking forward to the Ballon d'Or World Footballer of the Year awards for acclaim for their efforts, Van Persie was not even featured on the shortlist for the game's top individual award.

If the Dutchman's irk at being snubbed for the reward has contributed to his fine run of form, he has certainly been successful in convincing skysports.com readers of his credentials as one of the game's very best.