Andrei Arshavin fired up for Blackburn match
Arsenal midfielder Andrei Arshavin is fired up for Arsenal’s next match in the league. The gunners take on Blackburn Rovers at Ewood park on Saturday, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat last season. Arshavin said that the team has some unfinished business against the Rovers and will make sure they come back with a thumping win.
Arsenal are currently focused on signing the French defender Sebastien Squillaci for 6 million pounds from Sevilla. Arsene Wenger said that he needs one defender to complete his summer signings and then he will be able to focus on the league totally, once he is done with that. Arsenal were one of the teams running for the Premier League title in the early part of the season. In 2010 the season started heading south for them, with defeats at the hands of Tottenham and Wigan pretty much ending their title surge. Rovers got them on a run of bad games and beat the Gunners 2-1 in May.
After the match there were some harsh words said from both sides. Wenger had accused Rovers of playing an unnecessary physical game and said that the match referee Martin Atkinson could have done better. He said that his players were not protected by the referee and it was an ugly match.
On the other hand Sam Allardyce had accused Arsenal of finding unreasonable allegations to justify their loss. That was not the first time Blackburn had caused problems for Arsenal, however 2 seasons ago Arsenal did beat them 4-0 at Ewodd Park.
Saturday’s match will test Wenger’s young team, as Allardyce will once again be looking at his team to use their physical presence and intimidate the visitors. Arsenal has had a mixed start to the season. They played a hard fought 1-1 draw against Liverpool where they were dominated by the reds; however they followed it up with a resounding 6-0 win over the new boys Blackpool.
Arshavin, who scored his first goal of the season with a penalty against Blackpool, said that a victory against Blackburn will be sweet revenge and a perfect way to go into the international break.
While talking to a newspaper the Russian said that, the loss at Rovers last season was a bitter pill to swallow. He added that the whole team is determined to put the score right this weekend, and prove that the 2-1 loss in May was just a bad day for the team. Arshavin said that it is also very important to go on international duty after a good win, so it is added motivation for the whole team.
The midfielder said that last season did teach the team a lot of things. He said that in the early part of the season things were looking good. However, as the season is 10 months long it does take a toll on the whole team, and we have to learn how to sustain the same level of performance throughout the campaign. He said that the team lost some crucial matches when it mattered most, and the manager has been making sure that the team does not make the same mistakes again. He said that there is no doubt that his young colleagues have extraordinary talent, but experience is something everyone benefits from. He said that Wenger has been working extra hard with the squad, and the team is better prepared than they were last season.
Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger said that he has confidence in his young team, and knows that they will be able to maintain the same level of performance throughout the season.
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