Arda hits back at Van Persie comments
Turkey midfielder Arda Turan was not happy about Robin van Persie's suggestion that Turkey could slip up in Euro 2016 qualifying.
Arda Turan has rounded on Netherlands international Robin van Persie's remarks that Turkey will drop points as the two nations vie for a playoff spot to reach Euro 2016.
Two points separate Fatih Terim's third-placed side from Danny Blind's men one position below, with automatic qualification for the European Championships now impossible for both.
Turkey facse Czech Republic and Iceland in its final two Group A fixtures and Van Persie - who plies his club trade at Turkish giant Fenerbahce - suggested that, as a result, it may struggle to retain its advantage over Netherlands.
That caused the Barcelona midfielder to hit back by publicly wishing the opponents of their rivals for qualification good luck.
"Someone thinks that we'll drop points - good luck with that," Arda said in a news conference. "The estimates must be done accurately. We can go to the playoffs even if we lose points, so I wish Kazakhstan and Czech Republic success.
"We'll mind our own business. We need to go to France in 2016 as a nation and I believe that we'll get our just rewards."
His comments were backed up by teammate Caner Erkin, who suggested that Turkey is calm knowing that his team's destiny is in its own hands.
"This is Van Persie's own view, we don't think like him. Every match starts with equality of 0-0," the 27-year-old said.
"Of course both Turkey and Netherlands could drop points. If we have four points from the last two matches, we'll play in the playoff but we want to win our both matches. We won't give up our fate to Netherlands."