Arsene Wenger facing Robin van Persie row as injured Arsenal striker is named in Holland squad

By Simon Cass

Arsene Wenger has expressed his shock that Robin van Persie has been named by Bert van Marwijk in Holland's preliminary 24-man squad for a friendly against Turkey on November 17.



Van Persie has not played since being forced off 35 minutes into his first start of the season in August after suffering an ankle injury.



Wenger said: 'Robin van Persie has not played for us and still not practised properly with the group, so I am quite surprised he has been called up.'

Dutch courage: Gunners striker Van Persie has been named in the Holland squad

Holland squad to face Turkey Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Michel Vorm (Utrecht), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg), Peter Wisgerhof (Twente), Erik Pieters (PSV), Wilfred Bouma (PSV), Johnny Heitinga (Everton), Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia), Ibrahim Afellay (PSV), Wout Brama (Twente), Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Theo Janssen (Twente), Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham), Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax), Eljero Elia (Hamburg); Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Jeremain Lens (PSV), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Hamburg), Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

The 27-year-old is set to return to full training at the end of this week and could feature in the north London derby with Tottenham three days after Holland's game.

Although Van Persie is on the road to recovery, Wenger is sure to be reluctant to release him, and could take his case to FIFA if Van Persie is named in the final squad.



Meanwhile, Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong has again been left out of the Dutch party after a face-to-face meeting with Van Marwijk.



De Jong was dropped for two recent Euro 2012 qualifiers as 'punishment' for the tackle on Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa that left the Frenchman with a broken leg.



Van Marwijk flew to Manchester on Tuesday for talks with De Jong but still decided to leave him out.



The Dutch coach said: 'We have had a good talk about the situation. Nigel will be back for the game with Austria in February.'



