Player Profile: Andrei Arshavin
Andrei Arshavin Finally secured the big club move he had been longed for in February 2009 when he signed for Arsenal. It was a transfer that had to be completed on the dead line day and left certain fans biting their nails in anticipation because no one was sure as to whether it would be completed in time or not.
He had initially played most of his games earlier in his career, on the right hand side as a winger or midfielder. He has since emerged as an attacking threat and a creative midfield genius with quality rivaled by only a few. His new preferred position of play where he is most effective from in right behind the lone striker, he plays almost like as shadow to the striker incase he fumbles or misses Arshavin pounces on the scraps and creates wonders with them.
Andrei Arshavin was born in Leingrad which is now referred to as Saint Petersburg. He started playing for his hometown team but began his professional career playing for them in the Zenit-2, which is the Second Division to the Russian footballing league. He eventually made his move up to the first team in the 2000 season. He played as a right midfielder at this point of his career.
He made his international debut for Russia in 2002, in a match against Belarus. He went on to become the Russian footballer of the year in 2006. In 2005 he helped Zenit win their first ever Russian premier league title since the 1984 season. He managed to score ten goals that season.
Arshavin made his mark on the international scene in Euro 2008. He was a vital part of the Russian squad that defeated teams like, England, Austria and Switzerland along the way. He sealed his dominance on the global scale in the matches against Sweden and Netherlands, he scored a goal in injury time against Sweden which got Russia to win the game. Against Netherlands he scored a goal in extra time and then created another which saw Russia beat the Dutch three goals to one.
After the Euro however rumors started to speculate with the Russian possibly making a move to Spanish giants, Barcelona. But his failure to perform against Spain in the Semi Finals of the Euro 2008 saw those rumors put to rest. The player was then linked to Tottenham but a transfer fee of around twenty million pounds ended that link as well.
After Zenit failed to perform in the 2008 Champions League, Arshavin made it clear that he would not like to continue at the club in the coming season. It was at this point that Arsenal showed their interest in signing the player. In the winter transfer window after a month of persuasion the player finally made his way over to North London.
Arshavin was an instant hit at the club, he scored six and created five in just his first twelve games at the club. He even scored a record four goals against Liverpool at Anfield in a four all draw. He has the ability to unlock any defense and create a goal out of anything. He is one of the strongest assets in the Arsenal squad at the current moment in time.
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