Robin van Persie says he is not at all surprised by
Arsenal's superb start to the season.
The Dutch striker struck the only goal against Steaua Bucharest on
Tuesday night as Arsene Wenger's side recorded their ninth straight
win of the campaign.
The result not only put Arsenal in pole position to qualify for the
UEFA Champions League knockout stages but also matched the record
of successive victories set by Wenger's unbeaten team of
2003/04.
Surprise
Van Persie said: "At the start of the season I said we will
surprise - and everyone was laughing.
"Now 12 games into the season, everyone says, 'Ooh, look at
Arsenal, they are a good team'. This I knew before and my mind has
not changed.
"I started training early this season with Theo [Walcott] and
after, when the rest of the lads came back in, I saw a great
togetherness and belief and big quality. This is what I saw day in,
day out.
"If we can stay together we can do amazing stuff in the future. We
are progressing every week we play.
"If we just play our normal game, not many teams can stop us. We
can win
trophies. Why not? This is our aim."
Fantastic
Brazilian midfielder Gilberto, a member of the championship winning
side of 2004, added: "I am not surprised how well they are doing
because I am with them every day on the training ground.
"The quality in which they do their job - the pass and movement,
the goals -
is fantastic.
"If one of the players is not in condition to play, another
replaces him and will do a great job."
