PFA Player Of The Year Shortlist: Van Persie, Rooney Head 2012 Nominees

The shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year has been announced, with Arsenal's Robin van Persie, as expected, leading the nominations after his 34 goals this season, The rest of the six-man list is made up of the Manchester City trio Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Joe Hart, as well as Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Tottenham's Scott Parker.

Arsenal were struggling for some time but he was a real talisman for them, said PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, according to the Daily Telegraph.

He seems to have lifted the team and got them back believing in themselves again and looking to qualify for the Champions League, giving all the Arsenal fans some hope.

The fact that the shortlist is dominated by Manchester City players perhaps reflects the fact that voting for the award was held several weeks ago, when City were still heading the Premier League. In the past few weeks, though, City have struggled and fallen behind rivals United.

Yet Taylor was quick to point out that Aguero has been a positive addition to English soccer since his arrival from Atletico Madrid last summer.

We have been really fortunate to have a player like Sergio Aguero here, he said, according to the Telegraph.

He has been a major player for Manchester City and I am not surprised there is talk of Real Madrid wanting him.

I think Manchester City should work hard to keep him because he is a joy to watch.

Aguero also features among the nominations for the PFA Young Player of the Year, which were also announced on Monday.

The Argentinian forward is joined by the winner of last year's senior award, Tottenham's Gareth Bale. Also on the list is Bale's team mate Kyle Walker, Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Daniel Sturridge of Chelsea and Manchester United's Danny Welbeck.