Robin Van Persie after signing huge £250,000 a week deal.

Robin van Persie has revealed his delight at signing for Manchester United. The Dutch superstar will wear the No 20 shirt after completing his £24million switch from Arsenal.

He said: ‘It’s an honour to sign for Manchester United.

‘I am looking forward to following in the footsteps of so many great strikers, bringing my experience and playing my part to help the team compete for the biggest trophies in the game. I can’t wait to get started.’

Sir Alex Ferguson spoke of his delight yesterday at the capture of the Arsenal forward Robin van Persie after a long pursuit. Manchester United beat off competition from Juventus and Manchester City to land last season’s double player of the year in a deal that could eventually rise to as much as £24m.

“We are delighted with that [the Van Persie deal], of course,” he said. “He’s on his way up from London and will have a medical but sometimes medicals take a little longer and it may carry on until tomorrow. But I’m sure that he will be available for Monday’s game.

“Wayne Rooney and Van Persie are two fantastic players and it’s great to have both of them. What it gives us is more strength and combinations up front. Going back to the 1999 season, we had Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Solskjaer – the four best strikers in Europe.