Robin van Persie hit a hat-trick in the Netherlands’ 8-1 mauling of Hungary on Friday night.
In honour of this feat which makes him the Clockwork Orange record goalscorer, Soccerlens looks back at van Persie’s five Premier League trebles.
Arsenal 3-0 Wigan Athletic, 22 January 2011
Van Persie’s career at Arsenal had been stop-start because of a lousy injury record. He had still managed to put in many memorable match-winning performances, however.
A maiden Premier League hat-trick against Wigan Athletic, perpetually threatened by relegation, sent the Gunners second and two points off top spot.
Chelsea 3-5 Arsneal, 29 October 2011
Arsene Wenger’s team were a dozen points off the pace following a poor start to the season. Van Persie stepped up and scored his second treble to sink a resilient Chelsea.
The Blues led 1-0 and 2-1 before pegging Arsenal back at 3-3 when van Persie added a further two late strikes to seal a famous Stamford Bridge win.
Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn Rovers, 4 February 2012
Blackburn Rovers fans are still having nightmares about Steve Kean. Van Persie had a hand in this absolute demolition of the Lancashire outfit, who went to go down.
This emphatic Emirates victory was much-needed for Wenger as the Gunners had yet to win a Premier League game since the turn of the year.
Southampton 2-3 Manchester United, 2 September 2012
In the summer of 2012 van Persie left Arsenal for Manchester United. Title rivals and neighbours Manchester City courted him too, but he chose Old Trafford.
Van Persie quickly endeared himself to his new club by sinking newly promoted Southampton, despite their spirited display at St Marys and Kelvin Davis’s penalty save.
Sir Alex Ferguson racked up a thousand league games in charge of United and marked the occasion with victory delivered by late van Persie strikes.
Manchester United 3-0 Aston Villa, 22 April 2013
Last, and by no means least, this first half van Persie triple sealed the Red Devils’ 20th league triumph.
His second goal, a technically perfect volley dropping over the shoulder, was the pick.
Which van Persie hat-trick is your favourite? Have your say below.
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