It’s not often that Arsene Wenger pays out big money on transfer fees. It’s even less frequent that the shrewd Frenchman pays it out on a player nearing his 28th birthday. The Arsenal manager is well known for preferring to sign younger players that he can mould into world superstars and then, when the time is right, sell again for enormous profits think of Henri, Anelka, Adebayor and many others.
So buying Andrei Arshavin, already acknowledged as one of Europe’s best players, was out of character but, this season, we are really beginning to understand the logic behind the move. Arshavin, who was playing chess at the age of seven, has brought the perception and shrewdness of a Grand Master to the Premier League, making players such as Fabregas and Van Persie look even better.
Andrei Arshavin had spent all of his career at the Russian club Zenit St Petersburg prior to signing for Arsenal in February, 2009. Playing as a right sided midfielder, central midfielder or ‘second’ striker, he soon became recognised as a key member of both the Zenit and the Russian national sides helping his club win its first league title for 23 years in 2007 and being named Man of the Match in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final victory over Rangers at the City of Manchester Stadium. His performances for his country in the 2008 European Championships earned him a place in the Team of the Tournament, despite missing the first two games.
It was clear that Arshavin was both a goalscorer and a creator of chances for others. His ability to ‘turn’ and dictate games marked him out for what looked an inevitable transfer to one of Europe’s glamour clubs. Indeed, immediately after the European Championships, the newspaper talk was of bids from Barcelona and Spurs being rejected by the Zenit hierarchy, who were reportedly holding out for about £22 million.
When he eventually signed for Arsenal at the very end of the Transfer Window, the speculation then began about how easily the Russian would settle into English football and life in London. When stories began to circulate about his wife hating the country and having to fly her personal hairdresser over from Moscow, some fans began to fear the worst but, thankfully, on the pitch the transition appeared to be less problematic.
The highlight for the player in his first half season for Arsenal undoubtedly came in the amazing four all draw at Anfield, where Andrei scored all of the Gunners’ goals.
This season, though, has seen the true creative spark of Andrei Arshavin fully emerge. Always ready to receive the ball, a wonderful one touch player and, according to his manager, a player who ‘stands for all we love in football’, Arshavin is one of the reasons why it is not fanciful to think of Arsenal capturing one of the big trophies this year. Although he has, at the time of writing, played in only 22 games for Arsenal, scoring 10 goals, already Arsenal fans know they have a potential legendary midfielder in their ranks.
Russia’s failure to qualify for the South African World Cup will keep him from performing on that important stage, but perhaps instead Andrei Arshavin will light up the Bernabéu Stadium at the Champions’ League Final.
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Written by Steve Yates. If you want tickets for Arsenal fixtures visit our website http://www.footballticketpackages.com . As well as Arsenal you'll find Premier League tickets for all the top clubs . This article may be reproduced in full providing that the author is acknowledged.
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