Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 07:45• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 07:48

Robin van Persie has reacted with great sadness to the death of Arsenal legend Steve Rowley. The master scout passed away last weekend at the age of 63. Rowley worked as the right-hand man to Arsène Wenger for a long time and was known for plucking the best talents from the European fields. Van Persie was also brought to North London by the club legend.

Rowley scouted Van Persie during matches of the first team and the promises of Feyenoord. “At a crucial moment in my career, because let’s be honest: it was not my best period at Feyenoord. I was not feeling very well. But he was convinced and a few months later I played in London. “Those years at Arsenal I always played a little bit with him in my mind. I felt I owed it to him too to succeed at the top. Steve stuck his neck out for me,” said the former Arsenal striker in conversation of The Telegraph†

“Every Monday after training he sat down with me. Then he showed me pictures of Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires. Then he showed pictures of me in the second team of Arsenal. Then he asked me questions about the choices I made and he let me analyze the game of Bergkamp and Pires. He made me aware of my areas for improvement and if you are talking about a sense of space and learning to create that space? He was a master at that. In addition, he had humor and he was amicable. His concern for me and my wife was enormous, he assisted us as a family in everything and later even helped with the purchase of our dream house. All those things are not in the responsibilities of a chief scout, but he did it.”

Rowley played a key role in Arsenal’s success under Wenger, serving as Chief Scout before leaving the club in 2017. He passed away last weekend after a short illness. “I am forever grateful to him and will miss him so much,” said a grieving Van Persie. “Without his influence I might also have had a nice career, but never as beautiful as it has become now. Everyone loved him. I don’t know a greater scout in this profession than Steve. But above all a warm person. Even at Manchester United, Fenerbahce and Feyenoord we kept in touch.”