Andrei Kanchelskis slates Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin
Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin has come in for heavy criticism from his compatriot Andrei Kanchelskis.
Kanchelskis, who played in the English Premier League with Manchester United and Everton in the 1990s, became the first well-known Russian to ply his trade in the top-flight. However, he does not rate Arshavin, perhaps the best-known Russian player at present.
Former Rangers player Kanchelskis, who won two EPL titles with United and a pair of league titles in Scotland, told Sport-Express that Arshavin had only shone against smaller sides and criticized the 29-year-old player’s work-rate.
He said that: “To start with, Arshavin seldom plays for 90 minutes and is usually substituted in the second half. When he plays each match from start to finish, then we will see. In the first match [of the season] against Liverpool, you didn’t see him in the box. A week later Blackpool conceded six goals, Arshavin took a penalty and scored. But you need to understand the level of the opponent. And then Blackburn, who he scored the winning goal against, are far from a top club.”
Kanchelskis’ main criticism of the midfielder though, was that Arshavin failed to deliver a high level of performance on a regular basis. He said that: "In my opinion, Arshavin is overrated. He has been praised too much. He hasn’t shown brilliance for a very long time. The main thing is consistency, which Arshavin doesn’t have."
Arshavin joined Arsenal from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2009 after impressing at the UEFA 2008 European Football Championship with Russia, where he won two Man of the Match awards and was named in UEFA’s Team of the Tournament.
Though he has not yet won any silverware at the Emirates Stadium, he was named as the EPL’s most effective player in 2009 by analyst firm IMScouting as he either scored or provided an assist for a goal for every 76.69 minutes he played in the 2008-09 season.
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