Robin van Persie earned a reputation as one of the Premier League's most lethal strikers during his prime years with both Arsenal and Manchester United.

The Netherlands striker joined the Gunners in 2004 from Feyenoord and, over the course of eight years in north London, netted 132 goals for Arsenal, placing himself among the top 10 goal scorers in the club's history.

However, his time with the club came during a barren period for honours and he caused uproar in 2012 when he turned his back on the club, with whom he was club captain, to seal a move to United.

While his stint at Old Trafford would only last three seasons, Van Persie made enough of an impact to be remembered as a cult hero - and finally got his hands on the Premier League title.

During the title-winning season in 2012/13, Van Persie finished as the Premier League's leading scorer with 26 goals, three ahead of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

So, it's clear Van Persie had varying levels of success at the two clubs, but which players did he play the most matches alongside? We've answered that very question.
 

The rules

• The XI is made up of players who made the most appearances alongside our featured player or for our featured manager. We're not looking for an overall 'Best' XI, and the player/manager himself isn't in it.
• For a player, the appearance numbers are based on the time they spent on the pitch at the same time as our main man, factoring in both club and international level.
• This isn't necessarily the eleven players who've spent the most time on the pitch with/for him, just the eleven that would fit into a working team.
• We're not going to come up with a Garth Crooksesque formation, but we might name subs if we feel like it.
• All minutes played and appearances stats are courtesy of transfermarkt.co.uk.
• Don't get angry in the comments section.

David de Gea

Games played with Van Persie: 95
Arsenal's instability between the sticks can largely account for David de Gea's inclusion with 95 appearances together, as the Gunners had a few different options who rose and fell during Van Persie's career in north London.

Bacary Sagna

Games played with Van Persie: 123
An Arsenal regular prior to leaving the Emirates Stadium to join Manchester City, Bacary Sagna played alongside Van Persie on numerous occasions before the pair both found themselves on the opposite sides of Manchester.
Sagna beats Emmanuel Eboue and Antonio Valencia to the right-back spot in the side.

Johan Djourou

Games played with Van Persie: 95
Johan Djourou's inclusion, having played 95 times alongside Van Persie, is a pretty significant indication of why Premier League glory was never tasted by the Dutch striker during his spell with the Gunners, as the Swiss international was sub-par during many of his years in the Premier League.

Still, he earns a spot in the side ahead of the likes of William Gallas, Laurent Koscielny and Simon Kjaer.

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