Robin van Persie has spoken of his pride at matching the scoring record of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry over the course of a calendar year.
Gunners skipper proud to have equalled the record of Arsenal icon
Robin van Persie has spoken of his pride at matching the scoring record of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry over the course of a calendar year.
The prolific Dutchman took his tally for 2011 to 34 with the opening goal in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.
That return pulls him level with the best Henry managed during his time in England, with the Frenchman going on to become the Gunners' all-time leading scorer.
Van Persie still needs three more goals to eclipse Alan Shearer's record of 36, set in 1995 during his days with Blackburn, but the Arsenal skipper is delighted to have equalled the achievements of a modern day icon.
He said: "It is a big honour to equal Thierry's record because he is probably the best player Arsenal ever had.
"To achieve what he did in a year is really special. It makes me proud.
"I think it has helped that I haven't missed a single Premier League game and featured for 90 minutes in most of them.
Risks
"When you have a good run, and you feel fresh and fit, you try things, you take more risks here and there than, for example, if you are just coming back from injury.
"You always need a couple of games (to get fully sharp) when you're back from injury.
"As a striker I think it is really important to have a go. If you look at my performances, I take more risks now because I know with the team behind me I will always get more chances.
"It's not that I only get one chance normally, I always get one, two, three, sometimes four chances in a game. That sort of tells me that I can take a risk here and there.
But Van Persie stressed: "It (the scoring records) is not my main target. The main target is to win games and to help my team out and to have a good run.
"After losing to Manchester City, it is always really important to bounce back after a defeat. Great teams do bounce back and that's what we had to do at Villa on Wednesday.
"Now we have Wolves on Tuesday, then afterwards QPR both at home, so hopefully we can have a good run again."
