15 Ex-Premier League players you didn’t know were still active

Late Bloomer

Robin van Persie joined Arsenal in 2004 from Feyenoord and was quickly slotted in for his fellow aging country man Dennis Bergkamp.

The Dutchman was seen by some scouts as a “gifted raw talent” that needed to work on his temper. After years of  dealing with injuries that sidelined him for lengthy period of times, Van Persie matured into a potent striker the club has ever seen. By the time he left the Gunners in August 2012, he had set countless records including his 132 goals in 278 games.

Club legend Thierry Henry hailed the striker during his time at Arsenal stating.

“What can I say about Robin?” he said in January 2012. “I saw him come in here and at the very beginning he wasn’t the easiest guy to deal with, like I wasn’t I guess. But it’s amazing to see how he has improved.

“I’m just in admiration. What he is doing, in terms of not just goals but ratio of goals, apart from Ronaldo and Messi, is ridiculous.”

After eight years at his beloved club, Van Persie joined Manchester in August 2012, where he would spend three seasons before moving to Turkish league Fenerbahce in 2015.