Arteta hails Van Persie

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta insists that captain Robin van Persie is one of the best strikers in the world after scoring both goals in the 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

Arsene Wenger's men have now earned their way into the knockout stages of the competition thanks to the Dutch international's dominance in front of goal.

Van Persie, 28, has scored over 30 goals so far this year and playmaker Arteta claims that his team-mate makes it look too easy.

"We all know how good he is. Robin keeps performing and scoring goals, making the difference," Arteta said. "At the moment he is level with any striker in the world, his numbers are unbelievable in the past eight or nine months.

"For me, it is just such a natural talent. Sometimes he looks as if he does not try, but beats players and scores an unbelievable goal. Robin is on fire, he is making the difference.

"Hopefully he can continue to do that and people can talk about him all the time, because that means we are winning."

Arsenal have already secured top spot in Group F of the Champions League with a game still remaining and the Spaniard believes that they now have a more improved chance of going further in the competition.

"We did not want to go to Greece having to win over there and we did the business against a really tough side," Arteta said, with Olympiakos the final game opponents.

"It takes a lot of pressure off and there are advantages to being top of the group, which gives you a better chance of going further.

"Every team in the Champions League are tough, but if there are ones you want to avoid then it is Real Madrid and Barcelona."

The Gunners have worked their way up to seventh in the Premier League after five straight wins but the ex-Everton player believes his team are on the right track as they prepare to face Fulham on Saturday.

"We are trying to improve the team and have been in a really good run over the past two months," Arteta said.

"However, we are still catching up on other teams in the Premier League because we had a really bad start, so there is still a lot to do."