Gunners to race in for van

Gunners chief Arsene Wenger has made no secret of his desire to remove some of the goalscoring burden from the shoulders of French superstar Thierry Henry.

The Frenchman has refused to commit himself to a January spending spree but, with a wealth of attacking options currently on the sidelines, a move for van Persie is being lined up.

"Arsenal have made a serious opening offer and our president, Jorien van den Herik, has already responded," Feyenoord director Jan D. Swart said. "This offer can be considered a serious base for further negotiations."

The youngster is one of the hottest properties to come through the ranks at De Kuip for some time and has been tipped for greatness by the club's coaching staff.

His progress has occasionally been halted by flashes of temperament, which prompted Feyenoord chief Bert van Marwijk to banish him to the reserves.

However, the 20-year-old has buckled down this term - with his performances attracting attention from Highbury.

Feyenoord have seen all attempts to thrash out a new deal fall on deaf ears, with the player expressing a desire to showcase his talents on a bigger stage.

Van Persie's present deal is due to expire in 2005, which has prompted Feyenoord to listen to offers for his signature.

"Robin has informed Feyenoord that he will not extend his contract," said van Persie's advisor agent Erwin Boonacker.

"In December, Robin was visited by an Arsenal representative and we informed Feyenoord about the interest from London.

"At the moment we are not negotiating but when Feyenoord and Arsenal reach an agreement, we will start negotiations with Arsenal."

The signs are that The Gunners would like to bring him to London before the closure of the transfer window, but may be prepared to wait until the summer before pushing through a deal.

Van Persie is predominantly a left winger but can be deployed as a central striker and Wenger is a master at getting his squad to adapt their playing styles.

Thierry Henry arrived at Arsenal from Juventus as a winger, but Wenger has steadily transformed him into one of the most feared strikers in world football and a similar path could be mapped out for van Persie.