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Van Persie has raised Manchester United's attacking level, says Sir Alex Ferguson
18-Dec-2012 4:20:00 PM
The Red Devils boss has praised the impact his summer signing has made on the fellow attackers, likening his arrival to that of Eric Cantona
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that the summer arrival of Robin van Persie has improved the performances of the squad’s entire attack.
Having netted 15 goals already this campaign, the Netherlands international has wasted no time in making his mark at Old Trafford, and his manager has not only hailed Van Persie’s own performances but also lauded how his presence has forced the rest of the club's strikers to raise their own games.
“The attacking aspect of our game has definitely improved [since Van Persie joined] and of course he has weighed in with 14 goals [before the 3-1 win over Sunderland] so far," the veteran manager told Yahoo! Sport.
"Chicharito has got nine goals, Rooney has seven I think and we have scored around 43 goals as team, which is quite a high amount for this time of year."
Sir Alex went on to comment on the similarities between Van Persie's arrival at the club and that of Eric Cantona in 1992, noting how neither player required any time to adapt to their new surroundings.
"He has got a similar profile to Eric in terms of age and maturity," the 70-year-old added. "He had a great spell at Arsenal so there is no issue with him needing to settle into the Premier League.
"He came from one big club to another big club and he is an established international. All these things in his profile suited us perfectly."
The United manager dismissed speculation that the club would be adding to their squad in the upcoming January transfer window, citing a shortage of value for money in comparison to the targets available during the summer.
"No, [there are no areas of the team we will be looking to strengthen]," the Scot maintained. "The January transfer market has never been the best transfer market.
"That has been proven over the years with very few big transfers happening. All the big transfers happen in the summer."
For more insight from Sir Alex Ferguson and other leading managers plus exclusive Barclays Premier League highlights go to www.yahoo.co.uk/sport
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