Robin van Persie has revealed that he will wait until the end of the season to hold contract talks with Arsenal.

The in-form Dutchman's current deal expires in 2013 and the North London club are desperate for the striker to put pen to paper on a new deal.

Van Persie has attracted the interest of a host of top European clubs such as Juventus and Barcelona.

However, speaking ahead of Sunday's North London derby against Tottenham, Van Persie sought to clarify the situation, explaining that discussions over a new contract with the Gunners will not start before the end of the season as he only wants to focus on matters on the pitch.

"There have been a lot of stories, generally contradictory ones, about my contract situation recently so I'd like to make it clear," the 28-year-old said in Sunday's Matchday Programme.

"There's nothing complicated or sinister - the club and I have both agreed to speak at the end of the season and see how things stand. The boss, Ivan Gazidis and I are all comfortable with it.

"I need all my focus to be on football - on captaining this team, improving every day, doing extra work on the training pitch and preparing for the very busy schedule of fixtures we have."

The Arsenal skipper will be hoping to avoid a first league double defeat to Spurs since the 1992-93 season when the pair meet this afternoon.