Arshavin and Arsenal FC

This is hard for me to write because I hate Arsenal FC. They are the team that introduced diving to the Premier League and I hate them more than any other team. Now that I got that out of the way....

Here's the blog:
Most who pay attention to the transfer market know that Arsenal sold Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City to become their 30th striker (actually its around 8, but who's counting?). After the unveiling and pictures of Adebayor in Manchester, some comments were about who Arsenal might but to replace him. Maybe Eduardo, or how about Tomas Rosicky scoring goals from the midfield? Maybe this will be Nicklas Bendtner's break out season!


One player that people are not talking about is Andrei Arshavin, the Russian attacking player. I call him an attacking player because he can play just about anywhere, top forward, withdrawn forward, attacking central midfield, left wing, right wing, etc. This is not speculation, either. Not only have I seen him do it with Russia and Zenit St. Petersburg, he's scored goals as well. None other than Zinedine Zidane said after Euro 2008, Arshavin was destined for greatness. Even before Euro 2008 started, Arshavin led Zenit to lifting the 2008 UEFA Cup, beating Rangers 2-0. His assist on the first goal was one of the best passes I've ever seen. He also helped set up the 2nd goal as well.


I think its time that Arsene Wenger puts Arshavin up front with, well, it doesn't really matter. He makes players along side him better. In Euro 2008 he was banned for the first two games while Russia looked out of sorts, barely winning their 2nd game 1-0. Arshavin made his return for Russia's must win game against Sweden and registered a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory. Arshavin made Roman Pavlyuchenko look world class. Anyone who has seen Roman play in other games besides Euro 2008 knows that he is far from the world class standard. Two of his three goals came from gift-wrapped passes from Arshavin (the other goal was a very late one against Spain in a 4-1 loss). Put Bendtner or Eduardo along side him. Bottom line is that Arshavin will make a team better by his presence on the field. Any one remember his 4 goals against Liverpool in a 4-4 draw a few months back? The English media seems to not remember. When was the last time anyone scored 4 goals against Liverpool in 90 mins (at Anfield, no less)?? When I'm done writing this, I'll try to look for it on Google or something.


This could be a turning point for Arsenal as well. Wenger seems to be trapped into getting good deals on young talent, hoping that they soon develop into world class players. While he has had success in the past, he had veterans to help them along. He bought Kolo Toure for 150,000 pounds but Toure played along side Sol Campbell. He bought Thierry Henry, granted for a lot more than Toure, but Henry struggled his first season in England. But who was his striking partner? The legendary Dennis Bergkamp. The rest is goal scoring history.


Wenger doesn't have that veteran player leadership to bring young players along anymore. Evidence is how badly Fabregas' play has fallen in the past year. When he has a bad game, who will tell him to hold his head up high and forget about it? Eboue? Doubt it. How long are Arsenal FC going to be called the "Young Gunners"? Its been their nickname for close to 3 or 4 years now.


Wenger needs to invest in ready made players who will show up and be effective immediately, not wait a few years for them to develop like Denilson and Diaby. Sure it will cost more money but these players won't require extreme patience that I'm sure the Arsenal FC supporters are running out of. Word of advice to Wenger, make sure you buy around Arshavin. That would be your smartest move if you want to get your hands on a trophy next season, which will end a near 5 year drought.

As a Manchester United fan, I was very happy that Arshavin was ineligible to play with Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final. The Russian playmaker might have just torn Man Utd to pieces.

P.S. Wenger needs to give Arshavin the #10 shirt. William Gallas, a central defender, currently has the #10 shirt. That has got to be the biggest joke I've ever seen.