Van Persie ready for Fulham

Van Persie: Back in action

If this one person scores 40 or 50 goals I would rely on him, but that happens once every 10 years. I'm quite happy to share the goals

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Arsenal striker Robin van Persie is expecting a tough challenge when the Gunners take on Fulham on Saturday.

The 26-year-old is expected to return to face the Cottagers and he insists games against teams without top-four aspirations are just as crucial.

Arsenal come into the Premier League fixture on the back of an impressive 4-0 win against Wigan, but the Dutch ace says his team must continue their good form against lower-ranked opposition.

"If you look last year, the way Manchester United became champions was against the smaller teams," he said.

"They won against all the teams from 19 to 10, that is why they became champions. So it is very important to win these games.

"I had a look at the fixtures coming up and on paper they look all right but we lost to Fulham last year and it is very, very tough.

Challenge

"I saw their game against Everton and they were very decent and it was a very good goal from Damien Duff.

"It's going to be hard but as long as we can put the pressure on the opponent, play together and share the goals then I'm quite confident."

Van Persie is adapting to Arsene Wenger's new 4-3-3 formation where he is the most advanced attacking player, but he has only found the back of the net once so far this term.

Now he believes there is more emphasis on every player chipping in with goals, rather than relying solely on the front men to take the plaudits.

"I'm quite happy with that but I should score more personally," he added.

"But as long as we share the goals and everyone is passing it at the right moment, I am happy."