Dutch striker Robin van Persie has said that he isna t quite certain about his long-term future at current club Manchester United. The 31 year-old, who joined the club in 2012, has a contract that runs till 2016, but beyond that he doesna t know what will happen.
a It is not up to me,a said the 31-year-old. a For the moment I am staying here for 18 months. That is it really. I cana t look into the future. I dona t know what is going to happen after that. We shall have to wait and see.a
The former Arsenal man, who almost single-handedly won the Red Devils the title in 2012-13 season, also admitted that he is unhappy with his goal tally of eight goals from 25 matches so far this season.
The team in its entirety hasna t been up to the mark as they have only managed five goals in the last 6 games with the last being a 0-0 draw against League Two side Cambridge United in the FA Cup.
Van Persie feels that all of the members of the team must accept that the performance hasna t been up to the mark. However, he did stress on the responsibility of the strikers to find the back of the net when a chance is created.
a Obviously we are not scoring enough goals, including me. I have to be honest,a told The Guardian at the launch of Swissquote, Manchester Uniteda s first global Official Forex and Online Trading Partner. a But if you look at [it] – I get chances every game. That is what makes me happy. I get one or two, sometimes three. When you look at the chance, for example, against Cambridge, I dona t think I can blame [Angel] Di Maria for the great pass or blame myself for the way I hit it. I am convinced that if we keep doing what we are doing, because we do create chances, if the strikers just take those chances that we are doing I think we have a chance of scoring again.
a I think everyone in the team is responsible. Everyone feels responsible. I do definitely. This year I have played something like 20 [25] games and I have scored eight goals. I am not happy with that. I want to score more. I will do everything, every day in training and during the games I will keep doing what I have been doing for the last 10 years to make those goals. It makes so many people happy. Including me.a
Van Persiea s goal record has dipped over the last two years, and some have questioned the playera s attitude. Certain critics have even declared Van Persie past his prime and said that hea s lost a few yards of pace, causing him to look ordinary. In 2012-13, the Dutchman scored 30 goals, that stat dropped to 18 in an injury plagued campaign under David Moyes and looks set to drop further under Louis Van Gaal.
a In my last couple of games I didna t score. But again, can I really blame myself for that? I am always asking me that question. Against Spurs for example [a 0-0 draw on 28 December] there was that ball from [Michael] Carrick and I had one touch, another touch and another. I went to finish with my right leg.
a Normally, nine out of 10 keepers will make a move and it will be a goal. But not that day. Like I said, if I scored that goal it could have happened and we would have won the game. Then we are having a very different conversation. It is a very thin line between scoring a load or goals and only a couple. I know what I have to do to create those opportunities. I will keep doing that. At the moment, it is not enough. I know that. I will do everything I can to improve that.a