One of the strangest things about Arsenal’s disappointing mid-week defeat to Olympiakos, was the fact that Arsene Wenger couldn’t even find a place in his starting line-up for Russian waster, Andrey Arshavin.
The Gunners boss opted to send out a team full of fringe players, youth and no-hopers. The line-up included players like Marouane Chamakh (a complete and unprecedented waste of space), Sebastien Squillaci (who clearly has no future at the club) and Gervinho (who has all the nous of a deer in the headlights).
These are players who are going nowhere fast. The fact that Arshavin wasn’t a part of this line-up is telling. The little Russian seems to have wasted his big move and his Arsenal career is clearly at an all-time low.
Even when Arshavin replaced Tomas Rosicky at half-time, he looks lackadaisical, slow and sloppy. Whilst it’s somewhat unfair to judge a player on the basis of 45 minutes, when he’s had no regular football, it’s Arshavin that has created the position that he’s currently in. A lack of application, effort and will-power saw him lose his place in the side and forgo the right to any kind of run of games in the side.
Arshavin could have been a world-beater. We all remember his four goal tally against Liverpool at Anfield and his rapturous goal against Barcelona in the Champions League. This was a player with pace, ability and something special about him. One by one these attributes have slowly disappeared and now Arsenal are left with only a shell of a player.
This is no doubt why The Metro claim that Arsene Wenger has told the Russian to find a new club in January. His contract will run out next summer and there have been no signs that the Gunners will offer him new terms. For all intents and purposes, the Russian’s Arsenal career is over.
He was Arsenal’s record signing at £15m back in 2009. When he leaves the club, Arsenal will make a massive loss. But it’s a move that has to be completed. Arsene Wenger has to ship out all the deadwood from the club if he’s to have any chance of starting a new. The club’s new commercial deal offers him and fans fresh hope, but only if Wenger can separate the wheat from the chuff and create a strong team.
One thing’s for sure: Arshavin will not be a part of it.
What’s your take? Are Arsenal right to sell Andrey Arshavin?
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He is right to sell. Arshavin is one of the top earners at the club and yet he never plays and even when he does he plays as though he’s being forced to. We should have sold him last season! That way we could have freed up some money and brought in a suitable replacement.
Next to go obviously is Squillacci, Chamakh and Gervinho. Each of whom have been given far too many chances and have always failed to deliver consistent results.
Gervinho still deserves some time. He works hard and his runs off the ball are pretty key to our attacking play in truth. It could well be that in January we sign someone like Adrian or Zaha who would probable push him out the side but Gerv is hardly the biggest issue at the club currently.
For the majority of his Arsenal career, Arshavin didn’t even put in the effort. Who cares if he is capable of doing a few things that Gervinho or whoever is not; if he doesn’t put in the effort, it’s all a waste of time. Gervinho makes runs off the ball and he defends. He does make too many mistakes when well placed, and does give the ball away too cheaply at times, but when he does it’s almost always in attacking positions, as opposed to Arshavin who is far too casual in his own half and puts the defence under unnecessary pressure. If Gerv has no nouse going forward, Arshavin has even less going backwards, and he does need to do some defending.
It’s heartening to see that Andrei has started to put in more effort recently and I do hope he can find a move that suits him so that he can enjoy the rest of his career, but frankly he should have been gone a couple of seasons ago. He reminds me of denilson in that he seems to expect everything to come to him and doesn’t seem to understand the need to earn the right to win games. For Denilson, who was 22ish when he last played for us, that attitude is unnacceptable, but for a 30yr old Russian international it’s completely absurd. Arshavin should have been a leading light at Arsenal and could have inspired certain players to stick around a bit longer, but rather he is the poster boy for the Arsenal side in recent years: all the talent in the world but not enough desire to win.
Why did Wenger even bother to buy him in the first place, if he’s not good. Something is wrong somewhere – right at the club! Wenger’s failures, all of which he brought in – almunia, denilson, bendtner, stephanov, sendoros, cygan, chamakh, SYLVESTRE, SQUILLACI, sick-man diaby, and soon, gervinho, ramsey. A top manager with loads of mistakes.
Whilst I agree, AW has bought loads of flops, the fact is that he`s in his 16th year in the FAPL and that indicates he`s also bought a load of successful players who he`s turned into top stars, along with success to the club.
What I`m saying is, when you`re so long in that type of job, you`re bound to have a few flops. SAF has had his fear share, my friend.
He also bought Vermalean, Henry, Vieira, Overmars, Koscielny, Campbell, Lauren, Ljungberg, Lehmann, Fabregas, Sagna, Pires, Petit, Edu, Gilberto Silva, Van Persie, Podolski, Anelka, Toure, Arteta, Mertesacker and many many more brilliant inspired buys. On a ratio to SAF I think the good still vastly outwiegh the cons. The players you have listed have an aggregate value of much less than just Anderson on his own.
Dont forget, wenger thinks playing a player out of position and expect a top performance- that’s silly, not to say wasteful.
If Park was useless, then wenger was stupid to buy him.
Sad day for arsenal , big mistake to sell him , deserved every penny of his wages when playing , his skills, assists and goals where underappreciated with us , he’s a much better option than most of this currant crop of tools.
Ha! You are talking about arshavin yeah? The guy is useless. he has no skills no assists or goals?
Shit!
sad indeed, on his day a world beater but who knows what happened to him? Unfortuenately must go for what we can get, save on wages and have money to buy a quality player (no cheap bargains please)
i prefer him dan ramse gv him sum chanc
Arshavin is good in video games
Wenger sign only the top top players
poor guy kinda feel sorry for him!