Arsenal striker Robin van Persie wants to become the best player in the world.

"I want to become the best player in the world," he told the News of the World.

"I find it hard to sleep after a game and I'll get up and write notes about how I played. I study all my matches and am a very harsh critic of myself. I haven't yet reached the level I am capable of. If I were a true world-beater, I would have been voted the best player in Europe, I would have trophies.

"If our team had won the Champions League, the Premier League or the FA Cup maybe I'd have been a candidate for such an award. Only then could I say I'd reached the top - and that's not the case yet.

"But I see the potential at Arsenal. We have to do it. One fact which aggravates me is that in the five years I've been at Arsenal, we've won exactly the same number of trophies as I did at Feyenoord - ONE - that's not enough. When I arrived here, Arsenal were winning trophies for fun.

"But, if everyone is fit, we have a heck of a team and it's up to me to ensure we go out and win these trophies."

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is desperate for Van Persie to sign a new contract. And the player admitted: "I'm not in negotiations with any other club - just Arsenal. I want to become the best player in the world. My career will only be a success when I consider myself the best. Anything less, won't do."