Can Van Persie be tamed by Wenger?

Van Persie did not take it lying down. Ninety minutes later, with Feyenoord having won, their dressing-room celebrations were interrupted as the banished star burst in.

He screamed abuse at his team-mates, threw his boots off in anger and had to be restrained by a physio. Van Marwijk banned him for the next four matches.

'We didn't understand his reaction,' said team-mate Kees van Wonderen. 'Robin is an individualist who sometimes seems to live in his own world.'

Van Persie's 'individualism' is the result of his upbringing.

The son of a sculptor and artist, Bob van Persie, the young Robin enjoyed a liberal childhood after his parents divorced and his mother abandoned him on his father's doorstep because she could not control him.

He was sent to a school for difficult children, but was hardly given a firm guiding hand by his father, perhaps partly because, from a very early age, Bob was convinced of Robin's footballing greatness.

Today Bob, whose fame as a sculptor increased significantly once his son began to make his name as a footballer, can claim he was right all along.

'Robin is the best young player in Holland and will one day be recognised as one of the greatest players in the world,' he said yesterday. 'He has always inspired me in my work because he is such a special talent.'

Robin's talent was recognised at an early age.

He has been with Feyenoord since he was 12, but a key part of his footballing education came on the streets of Rotterdam's Kralingen district, where he learned how to play the hard way.

'Street football' is a part of Dutch culture which has no equal in Britain and involves gangs of roaming youths challenging each other to contests in squares where the only rule is 'win at all costs'. Most games end when the police break them up.

Kralingen has a famous little square surrounded by high fences. It was nicknamed 'the Cage' and Robin was known as 'the King of the Cage'.

He made his Feyenoord debut aged 18 in early 2002, going on to make 10 league appearances before the end of the season and playing in the UEFA Cup Final victory over Borussia Dortmund.

The next season he ended with eight goals from 28 games. This campaign he has found the net six times from 32 appearances.

Among his admirers is Marco van Basten. 'Robin is perhaps the most gifted and talented player in Holland,' said the legendary former Holland striker. 'But he has to work on his physique because it seems every time he makes a play in a match he has to rest for three or four minutes afterwards.'

All of a sudden, the attraction for Wenger is apparent. 'Robin has shown great potential at both club and Under 21 international level and will help strengthen our squad considerably,' said the Arsenal manager after the signing was confirmed.

'He has a great left foot and is a great passer of the ball, with excellent vision. He's a versatile player and is comfortable as a striker or on the wing.

'He can play on the left of midfield, as a creative player behind the main strikers or as a target man.

'His main assets are his vision and his technical quality. He's tall too, uses his body well and is quite good in the air - so that's something new for us.'

For Wenger, however, the biggest problem may be keeping his new signing out of trouble. Sometimes it just seems to find him.

Two weeks ago, he played in a reserve match against Feyenoord's great rivals Ajax. As he trooped off at the end of the game, he was attacked by Ajax hooligans, who left him severely bruised on his neck and back.