Robbie Keane says Ireland is not afraid of Andrei Arshavin
Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane has revealed that his side is not afraid of the challenge posed by Andrei Arshavin and Russia when the teams meet in a UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying match on Friday.
d**k Advocaat’s side has struggled in the qualifying campaign so far, having stuttered to a win over Andorra and suffered a defeat at home against Slovakia. Ireland, meanwhile, lead the group from Slovakia on goal difference, having beaten Armenia and Andorra.
That has led Keane to say that Ireland should not be afraid of Russia — who failed to qualify for the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa — and in particular the undeniably talented Arshavin, who has yet to establish himself as a force in the English Premier
League since joining Arsenal in February 2009.
'Russians should be worried about our attackers'
Ireland captain Keane told reporters that it should actually be Russia who are fearful of the Irish. He said that, “It is going to be a big test for Arshavin this year in the Premier League. The second [full] season is always more difficult. He is going
to be a threat, but we don't go into the game just worried about Arshavin. The Russians should be a bit more worried about the attacking players that we have, people like [Aiden] McGeady and [Liam] Lawrence.”
The Tottenham Hotspur frontman added that he was impressed by McGeady, who will be able to provide the Ireland camp with some inside knowledge on Russia, having made the switch to Spartak Moscow from Celtic over the summer.
Keane said that. “In the last few games, he's (McGeady) showed maturity, and is a player who is getting better and better. He's still only a young player. With his new team he's doing very well and for Ireland he's set a standard now and he has to continue
it. He has the ability to score goals, he can beat players, he's got pace.”
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