Van Persie is Arsenal's only hope

Robin van Persie has been in sublime form over the last year

It's official: Robin van Persie is the most prolific goalscorer in the Premier League.

His tally of 25 goals in 26 league games in 2011 is remarkable and goes to show Arsenal have not lost all of their world-class talents.

However, the Dutchman is in severe danger of being wasted at the Emirates.

Arsenal have slightly recovered from their catastrophic start to the season with four consecutive wins in all competitions, but their performances have not been to a high enough standard and van Persie appears to be the only player capable of saving them.

Their last league game, at home against Stoke, emphasised that.

With van Persie on the bench, Arsenal struggled and the Potters were level at 1-1 until he was brought on.

Within seven minutes, van Persie had put Arsenal ahead and he later rounded the game off to underline his status as the Gunners' leading light.

Without him, they would be nowhere.

He is their only world-class player after the summer departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

Both Fabregas and Nasri left as Arsenal's trophy drought extended to six years

Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey will eventually play their way into that category but for now everything rests on van Persie.

At 28, he has reached his peak and it is such a pity he is not in a team to match him.

He is out of contract in 18 months and it would be no surprise to see him follow Fabregas and Nasri out of the door next summer.

Arsenal are going backwards and van Persie cannot go with them.

Some of the things he does at times are simply sublime, the work of a genius.

He produced some unbelievable moments in their recent game against Sunderland, including one incredible effort which hit the post and had echoes of Eric Cantona, while he seems to be regularly single-handedly winning Arsenal games.

They have recovered - largely due to van Persie - to seventh place in the Premier League and Champions League qualification is the best they can aim for.

However, look at their squad and you realise they need a miracle to finish in the top four. The only person who can realistically provide one is van Persie.

But is merely finishing in the top four really all van Persie has ambitions to achieve?

Without van Persie's goals, could Arsenal be in a relegation battle?

With the performances he is producing, he could play for any club in the Premier League and not look out of place. Even the mesmerising Manchester City.

Of course, qualifying for the Champions League for 15 straight years is a fantastic achievement by Arsene Wenger and everybody at Arsenal, but that run looks almost sure to end this season.

Manchester United, City and Chelsea look certainties to qualify while Tottenham and Liverpool both look a cut above Arsenal, so van Persie must surely be considering his future.

He is far too good for the Europa League.

Arsenal go to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea tomorrow and that will provide a true test of whether they have recovered.

The likelihood is Chelsea will have far too much for them.

van Persie will be able to drag Arsenal to victories over some of the lower-ranked sides at home but facing a side like Chelsea, on their own patch, is a different prospect.

They would need a fantastic performance from everybody to take anything from Stamford Bridge but consistency is not something this side looks capable of. Only van Persie is producing week in, week out.

The only thing which counts against him is his injury record.

van Persie has struggled with injuries throughout his career

He has often been in great form and suddenly his body has gave up on him but when he is fit, he has very few contemporaries.

He may not quite be the best striker in the Premier League, but he may just be the best all-round striker.

van Persie can run, shoot, head, cross, pass, has a great dead ball delivery and strike, can produce immense moments of skill and do pretty much anything when he is in form.

He is one of the world's best strikers but time is fast running out for him to be in a team which matches his talents.

He will feel great attachment to Arsenal and Wenger, who have shown so much faith in him and are now relying on him as their captain and best player, but he may soon realise like those before him that the time is right to leave.

If Arsenal take a beating at Chelsea tomorrow, the penny may begin to drop.