Arsenal’s potential Champions League last 16 clash with Dutch side Feyenoord is set to receive an added flavor of spice – with former striker Robin van Persie poised to take over the job Liverpool’s Arne Slot surrendered last summer.
Van Persie spent eight years at the Emirates Stadium between 2004 and 2012, scoring 96 goals in 194 Premier League appearances, and was part of the Arsenal side that finished runners-up to Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final.
The elegant Dutchman, who possessed a wand of a left foot and was known for the spectacular, left in controversial circumstances to join Manchester United and immediately won the Premier League title at Old Trafford, before winding down his career in his native Netherlands.
The 41-year-old actually ended his career where it started, at Dutch giants Feyenoord, and things are about to turn full circle for Van Persie as The Athletic report that he is set to imminently be named as the club’s new manager.
Van Persie is currently in charge of Heerenveen – his first managerial post – and has only been in the role for nine months. However, with Feyenoord opting to sack Danish manager Brian Priske less than a year after losing Slot to Liverpool, it appears he’s on the cusp of taking on one of the biggest Eredivisie jobs going.
An unlikely reunion with Arsenal could be a matter of weeks away as Feyenoord are one of two opponents that the Gunners could be drawn against in Friday’s Champions League last 16 draw.
The other side who could come up against Mikel Arteta’s side are Feyenoord’s bitter rivals, PSV Eindhoven, who overcame Juventus in their two-legged Champions League knockout round play-off tie after a 4-3 aggregate win following extra-time.
Another highlight of Van Persie’s Arsenal career was when he was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2011/12 after winning the Premier League Golden Boot in his final season – his 30 goals a feat that matched Thierry Henry’s career-best output during the Invincibles season of 2003/04.
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