Andrey Arshavin - All that glitters is not gold

Article by e-Football Writer Alex Marson

Andrey Arshavin has returned to Russia with his hometown club Zenit St.Petersburg after an unhappy spell in London, where he made just 7 substitute appearances in the league last season. So where did it all go wrong?

Arsenal fans were growing weary of signing young, inexperienced players, so a 27 year old Russian who had proven himself at Euro 2008 seemed a perfect fit. Signed for £15 million in January 2009, he was the kind of big name player Arsenal supporters had been crying out for.

He could have been forgiven for starting slowly at the North London club, having come from a completely different division that was the Russian league. But that was not the case. He scored on his home debut in a 4-0 victory over Blackburn rovers and appeared to be settling in very well. The highlight of his Arsenal career came in April, scoring an incredible 4 goals away at Anfield, which will surely go down as one of the most spectacular moments in Premier League history. He also picked up Premier League player of the month for April too. Things were certainly looking bright for the little Russian and expectations were high to see what he could do in a full season for the Gunners.

He did well, but not as emphatically, in his first full season at the club (09-10), scoring a respectable 10 goals in 30 appearances. 2010-2011 was when things started to get difficult for Andrey. Although he came of the bench to score the winner in the famous victory against Barcelona at the Emirates, and was still playing regularly, his form was very much up and down. He scored just 6 league goals in 37 apps, a significant decrease from the previous season.

In 2011-12, Arshavin’s statistics were even worse, scoring just once (and that was due to a bizarre mistake by Swansea goalkeeper Vorm). Fans also became frustrated by his lack of tracking back and defensive work. Consequently he was loaned back to Zenit for the remainder of the season.

His final season at the club meant that Arshavin ended his spell with the Gunners with a whimper, his only contribution coming in a relatively meaningless League Cup game vs Coventry (1 goal, 2 assists). He made just 7 substitute appearances all season in the league. His lack of involvement at the club lead to him revealing that he was close to suffering with depression at one stage.

As a Gooner writing this, I feel a degree of sympathy for how Arshavin’s Arsenal career ended. The potential was evident, but sadly the Russian was unable to sustain his scintillating start that he enjoyed early on at Arsenal. Thanks for the memories Andrey, and all the best for the future.