Euro 2008: Holland must not repeat Arsenal's mistakes

Robin Van Persie last night warned Holland not to fall into the same trap as Arsenal.

The Gunners striker came off the bench to share in the party as Marco van Basten's Oranje dismantled World Cup holders Italy in their Euro 2008 opener.

Controversy raged over Ruud van Nistelrooy's opening goal and the Dutch rekindled memories of the Total Football side of Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens in 1974.

But Van Persie's thoughts were concentrated on not suffering the same fate for his country as he did for his club.

All of Arsenal's brilliant football at the start of the season counted for nothing as they trailed home in third place in the Premier League and, while Holland set the tournament alight in Berne, Van Persie knows such beginnings can prove horribly deceptive.

"We played some great football and it reminded me of the football we play at Arsenal because we have an amazing counter-attack at the Emirates as well," said the 24-year-old frontman.

"But at Arsenal this season it was so frustrating.

"We deserved to win at least something for the football we played, but we lost a little bit of momentum at one stage - away at Birmingham, for instance, when we lost two points.

"Those weeks in February and March were quite tough and that was when we lost it.

"It was a small period but it's a thin line between winning or losing.

"For me, I can put that right a little bit by winning with my country. This is the chance for me to end the season on a big high, because I'm desperate to win something, to play in a final and win it. We want to show you can win a big title like this playing great football.

"But having said that, we know that when you play football, you want to win points. The ideal is to do what we did against Italy - not just play football, but win.

"Style is important to the way we play. We are brought up on a certain way of football and we think we have a bigger chance to win if we play better football.

"If you play good football, you create more chances and if you take those chances you win. It's logical for me."

Uefa backed the Swedish officials over Van Nistelrooy's opener. The ex-Manchester United striker - morally offside in the eyes of everyone inside the stadium - saw his goal count because Italian defender Christian Panucci was lying injured behind his own goal.

Uefa general secretary David Taylor insisted: "There is a lack of understanding among the general football public and it is understandable because it is an unusual situation.

"The player was not offside because, in addition to the Italian goalkeeper, there was another defender in front of the goalscorer. Although he was off the pitch, his position was still relevant for the purposes of the offside law.

"As a defender you are in play unless you have permission to be off the field.

It is up to FIFA to decide if the law needs changing."

Van Nistelrooy said: "Sometimes you get the luck, sometimes you don't. But we played some really good football and it was like a party out there with our fans."

That "offside" goal was an unusual situation.. it is up to FIFA to decide if the law needs changing