Argentine World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles has claimed that Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain has the potential to be as good as Robin van Persie.
Real Madrid forward Higuain, 25, has been heavily linked with a summer move to the Gunners, for whom Van Persie scored 96 goals in 194 Premier League appearances before leaving to join Manchester United last year.
Ardiles believes that signing his fellow Argentine would be a very good move for the London club.
"Van Persie is a super player, one of my favourites and one of the best in the Premier League last season, along with Gareth Bale," he said. "Can Higuain be as good as Van Persie? Of course he can, that's how good Higuain is.
"You remember when Van Persie arrived he was not exactly, immediately, the best player, it took a bit of time. But he was younger, now Higuain is much more experienced.
"Higuain is a top player. He will always score goals. He likes to be in the box all the time and he works hard for his team, wherever he goes he's going to be great for the team he's joining."
Higuain has found the net 52 times in 90 La Liga games.
Robert Summerscales
