2008 was the year a Russian footballer announced his name to the world by leading Zenit St. Petersburg to UEFA Cup glory then sparkling throughout Euro 2008. This man’s name is Andrey (Andrei) Arshavin. Although he was 27 years old at the time of winning the UEFA Cup at the City of Manchester Stadium and Russia’s team captain at the time, he was fairly unknown outside of his home country.
Over them few spring and summer months of 2008 Arshavin caught the eyes of the footballing world with Man of the Match performances in the UEFA Cup Final and Euro 2008 Quarter Final against Holland. He was even nominated for the Ballon D’or award in 2008. His reputation was so high that Barcelona, Real Madrid and many English clubs were linked with the little Russian. It was eventually Arsenal who sealed the deal for Arshavin on the final day of the 2009 January transfer window, meaning Premier League defenders had another exceptional attacker to fear.
Arshavin’s Arsenal career started exceedingly well as he finished 2008-2009 by being voted Arsenal’s second best player of the season despite only playing half of the season. However, since then it has all looked less rosy for the playmaker as Arsenal fans began to slate him for poor performances culminating in him going back to his hometown club, Zenit St. Petersburg (where he is already classed as a Legend) on loan. Last weekend (14th April), Arshavin scored a sweetly timed volley to help Zenit to a 2-0 win over title rivals CSKA Moscow and almost guarantee the title.
What does the future hold for the little genius? The simple answer may seem like he will remain in Russia. However, while Arshavin is currently in Russia, he has left his family still living in London who have very much taken to life in England and it is understood Arshavin wants his children to grow up in England. This means Arshavin either has to mend a very broken relationship with the Arsenal fans or move to another English club. I feel Arshavin still has the potential to be the same player that dazzled Europe in 2008 but just has to be given confidence by his fans. Also, much of Arshavin’s success in his career has come from him playing just off the main centre forward, therefore meaning he has a free roaming role and lack of defensive responsibility. During his Arsenal career Arshavin was forced to play on the left wing most of the time.
Arshavin still has great pace and the imagination needed in the Premier League to split defences. I feel a current mid-table team such as Aston Villa could be turned into European contenders if they took the gamble on a confidence player like Andrey Arshavin and I would very much like to see Andrey playing well and smiling again.
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