ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal v ChelseaARSENE WENGER wants to resolve Robin van Persie's Arsenal future before the Euro 2012 finals. Van Persie, whose contract expires in the summer of 2013, is scheduled to report for Holland's pre-tournament preparations on May 17th, four days after the Premier League season finishes.

The issue of his longer-term future has been moot since he announced last September that he did not wish to discuss fresh terms until the end of the season.

Van Persie’s focus on his game is so intense that it was supposed he would prefer to concentrate on the European Championship finals, which begin on June 8th, before he considered the new deal on offer at the Emirates Stadium.

But Wenger, perhaps mindful of last summer when he lost Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in August and was pressed into a frantic transfer market swoop, wants clarity at the outset this time. “That will be sorted at the end of the season,” he said, on the subject of Van Persie’s future.

“Yes, it will be before the Euros.”

Van Persie would be tempted to push for a move to Barcelona, if the Spanish club were to make an offer, while Real Madrid might also appeal. It is unclear whether he would be receptive to a transfer to Manchester City. Arsenal reserve the right to hold him to the final 12 months of his contract and they have made it clear that it is a course they are considering.

Van Persie has been able to blot out the sideshow to produce the finest season of his career, scoring 27 Premier League goals, 34 in all competitions for the club and four more for Holland.

He is the favourite to be named as the PFA Player of the Year tomorrow after he plays his 50th game of the season, including internationals, against Chelsea at the Emirates today.

“It’s beyond expectation [to play 50 matches] and for a striker, it’s massive,” Wenger said.

“It will be very important for him to get a breather before the European Championships. But he is not in the red zone, he is physically good. He has a very healthy life.”

Roberto Di Matteo has fended off speculation that he made a compelling case to be appointed as Chelsea manager on a permanent basis with a pragmatic 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.

“It’s not about myself,” the interim first-team coach said. “It’s about this club and this group of players that will be here many years to come.”

However, Di Matteo has had an impact. Over the 13 matches of his tenure he has had 10 wins, two draws and one defeat, which can be easily pardoned since it came at Manchester City.

Di Matteo does have his critics and they include Arrigo Sacchi, under whom he played for Italy.

“Roberto did well to motivate a group that seemed to have lost everything,” Sacchi said, “yet the game cannot be like this for a club that has invested [fortunes]. English fans who cheered at the end should not forget the criticisms of Italian sides when they won in this way. I believe that Di Matteo is doing the best but something is not [right] for the club and for many players.”

Di Matteo accepted that the mesmerising Barcelona style is closer to Sacchi’s ideal. The Stamford Bridge club are currently effective in their own way but the stand-in manager needs to maintain the good results. The side’s visit to Arsenal today is likely to be trying. Chelsea are sixth in the Premier League, even if Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur are only two points in front of them.

The situation is challenging for Di Matteo but it gives him scope to demonstrate what he can achieve.

He is getting the best out of his players but it is unsettling for Chelsea to fear that they may have to win the Champions League to feature in it next season.

In the circumstances Di Matteo has become dogged in his efforts to be soothing. Didier Drogba, the scorer against Barcelona, is 34 and approaching the end of his contract.

Di Matteo referred to the enduring impact of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, with a nod to Gianfranco Zola’s career at Chelsea. It is thought that a contract extension is being discussed by Drogba’s representatives.

“He’s not going to retire,” Di Matteo said of the Ivorian. “Whether he plays here or elsewhere I don’t know.”

Fernando Torres may start one of the next two matches as Drogba is carrying an injury. The latter’s age, though, is depicted by Di Matteo as a source of motivation.

“When you are over 30 you know your career is not as long as it was in your 20s,” he said. “Every time in competition [veterans] have that sheer will to win. Why these people play at these big clubs is because they have that ambition.”

Guardian Service