Arshavin to Zenit - loan

Alex Hadjicharalampous wrote:

ralph avedikian wrote:

Sami Rockfeller wrote:He was a fourth choice winger in a team that is only competing in the PL. Not a bad move, besides we have Gervinho back and AOC is featuring more regularly.

Also serves as a warning to the other non performers, you don't bring your A game you don't play for us.

This.

Not this. It's mental. Our squad is weak, this serves no other purpose than to weaken it further. You never know who is going to get injured next. Talking of fourth choice as if it somehow makes any difference to our team, last week our fifth choice CB played and got injured for God's sake.

I have no problem with him leaving, but do it in the summer, or do it in January when you can replace him. To do it now when you can't, and just before a big game, is ridiculous.

Wenger himself said he didn't want him to leave and that he expected him to be here today. More baffling decisions by Arsenal Football Club in the transfer market.

This.

This move is for the books. Save 1m on wages, get 1m on a fee, and hope he performs well so we can sell him for a slightly higher price in the summer. Which is logical, but ignores what happens on the pitch and where we may end up come the end of the season.

Which is totally in line with our transfer dealings in the last couple of years, isn't it?

I don't get the "preferred role" argument, he has himself said on several occasions that he likes playing on the left wing and its not like playing out of position decreases your ability to make a decent pass or beat your man. And before the Sunderland game how long had it been before Arshavin made any significant contribution in a game? He was just biding his time, adding another number to the size of our squad before the summer.

So our wingers now are Gervinho, Walcott and the Ox.. and the 4th choice would be.. Benayoun??

We could do without that loan move NOW, to be honest.

I prefer Benayoun as our 4th choice by a mile. At least he will work like a dog and he is not bad at all.

I would have been OK with selling him in the summer (when does his contract run out anyway?), but now is stupid. I know, I know, he didn't do much this season, but he still did more than the other "attacking options" have (Park, Chamakh, Benayoun). We should have kept him for now.

At least with Arshavin coming off the bench we have some hope of him doing something beneficial even if it's once every blue moon, with Chamakh for example we have none.

Sami Rockfeller wrote:I don't get the "preferred role" argument, he has himself said on several occasions that he likes playing on the left wing and its not like playing out of position decreases your ability to make a decent pass or beat your man. And before the Sunderland game how long had it been before Arshavin made any significant contribution in a game? He was just biding his time, adding another number to the size of our squad before the summer.

I see your points Sami , especially about his passing , although it has not been any worse that Ramsey's or Arteta's. At this point for me the "preferred role " criticism would be secondary to the "no bench/weakening squad " one .
Arshavin did it to himself, as Arseblog points out today. Go back and watch old clips of how much he hustled 2 years ago and compare it to his lack of energy now and the difference is stark.
At the same time , he played centrally for Zenit and for the Russian team.
When we bought him and Cesc was injured, Arshavin played more centrally and did well. You would think with Wilshere out for the whole year, he would at least get a run at ACM, but he didn't get that. Perhaps indicating either a) how set in his ways Wenger is or b) how little he trusts Arshavin anymore.
I wouldn't want Arshavin playing box to box or central attacker for 90 minutes...but 45 ? 30 ?
Does it take more energy and less laziness to play CM in a 4-3-3? Cesc did it and he wasn't too interesting in defending either.
Also, I dispute the idea that Arshavin didn't hustle when needed. He gets a lot of blame for Man U.'s 2nd goal at the Emirates, but he tracked Valencia(?) all the way back and attempted to tackle him ,but was clumsy and ineffective as a lot of ATTACKING players are.
I would put a lot of blame on Vermaelen for that goal, for not stepping in and trying to tackle Valencia. But Vermaelen is a defensive demi-god, seemingly above criticism ..
Right now in midfield we have Ramsey,Song Arteta, Benayoun, Rosicky, Coquelin (inj.) . That is weak, lacks creativity, could have used him.

can't really think of any reason other then he pushed for it.
his contributions this season:swansea(h),sunderland(a),qpr(h)..thats 9 points.
even if he could have helped in getting 3-4 points more for rest of the season.his stay for rest of the seasonwould have been worth it.however shit he might be,he is no worse then walcott right now.can you imagine wenger letting walcott leave in current situation.dnt think so
really bad move in my opinion

Michael Schatzky wrote:

Sami Rockfeller wrote:I don't get the "preferred role" argument, he has himself said on several occasions that he likes playing on the left wing and its not like playing out of position decreases your ability to make a decent pass or beat your man. And before the Sunderland game how long had it been before Arshavin made any significant contribution in a game? He was just biding his time, adding another number to the size of our squad before the summer.

I see your points Sami , especially about his passing , although it has not been any worse that Ramsey's or Arteta's. At this point for me the "preferred role " criticism would be secondary to the "no bench/weakening squad " one .
Arshavin did it to himself, as Arseblog points out today. Go back and watch old clips of how much he hustled 2 years ago and compare it to his lack of energy now and the difference is stark.
At the same time , he played centrally for Zenit and for the Russian team.
When we bought him and Cesc was injured, Arshavin played more centrally and did well. You would think with Wilshere out for the whole year, he would at least get a run at ACM, but he didn't get that. Perhaps indicating either a) how set in his ways Wenger is or b) how little he trusts Arshavin anymore.
I wouldn't want Arshavin playing box to box or central attacker for 90 minutes...but 45 ? 30 ?
Does it take more energy and less laziness to play CM in a 4-3-3? Cesc did it and he wasn't too interesting in defending either.
Also, I dispute the idea that Arshavin didn't hustle when needed. He gets a lot of blame for Man U.'s 2nd goal at the Emirates, but he tracked Valencia(?) all the way back and attempted to tackle him ,but was clumsy and ineffective as a lot of ATTACKING players are.
I would put a lot of blame on Vermaelen for that goal, for not stepping in and trying to tackle Valencia. But Vermaelen is a defensive demi-god, seemingly above criticism ..
Right now in midfield we have Ramsey,Song Arteta, Benayoun, Rosicky, Coquelin (inj.) . That is weak, lacks creativity, could have used him.

Just taking your last post regarding fit midfielders at the moment, we have four, just four, Arteta, Song, Rosicky and Benayoun with Diaby, Wilshire, Ramsey, Coquelin, Frimpong all injured. Thats bloody light and bloody crap.

Like everyone's said, this seems like a really weird time to do this. We obviously couldn't get shot of him in January, but on loan?? At least if we'd have sold him Wenger would have had less excuse not to bring in a replacement...

I think he's been terrible recently, the Man U game being a particular example, but I'd still rather have the body on the bench. I really don't understand why we let Ryo go out on loan if anyone at the club had even an idea that this would happen...

Also, while I think that he's never lived up to his promise, the goal he scored against Barca was one of my happiest moments in the 24 years I've supported Arsenal. For that I'll always appreciate his contribution to the club.

http://www.videofy.me/m9s8t68a/410919

some funny answers.especially about bendtner

There's obviously a reason why he has gone out on loan now but whatever. That's football. What annoys me is all the Arshavin bashers are now calling it a stupid deal while the whole season they have been calling for the Little Russian to piss off... Always liked Arshavin, he always made a contribution and tried even if he has a funny way of showing it. He has given us quite a few good memories but who knows, this isn't the end of his spell here formally so yeah... And like Ed Spence said, that goal against Barca... wow. Not a day goes by without me thinking about that goal and the commentary... the whole moment... Brilliant. Thanks Andrey and good luck.

I hope no-one saying this is a bad move also criticises Arsharvin at other times, and also criticise the club's inefficient wage expenditure.

vyom.chaudhary wrote:can't really think of any reason other then he pushed for it.
his contributions this season:swansea(h),sunderland(a),qpr(h)..thats 9 points.
even if he could have helped in getting 3-4 points more for rest of the season.his stay for rest of the seasonwould have been worth it.however shit he might be,he is no worse then walcott right now.can you imagine wenger letting walcott leave in current situation.dnt think so
really bad move in my opinion

What about the times he has under-contributed? Times where if someone else was on in stead of him, they could have changed the game.

dark knight wrote:So our wingers now are Gervinho, Walcott and the Ox.. and the 4th choice would be.. Benayoun??

We could do without that loan move NOW, to be honest.

Rosicky and Park can also play in the forward roles. That's 6 players for 2 positions.

Diaby, Afobe, Ozyakup if they are available.

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:

vyom.chaudhary wrote:can't really think of any reason other then he pushed for it.
his contributions this season:swansea(h),sunderland(a),qpr(h)..thats 9 points.
even if he could have helped in getting 3-4 points more for rest of the season.his stay for rest of the seasonwould have been worth it.however shit he might be,he is no worse then walcott right now.can you imagine wenger letting walcott leave in current situation.dnt think so
really bad move in my opinion

What about the times he has under-contributed? Times where if someone else was on in stead of him, they could have changed the game.

how many times have other subs changed the game though? i would be all for this move if we had better alternatives, but in terms of creating chances when we need it, i dont think there is anyone else off our bench who can do that. i honestly think t wa*s bad move

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:

dark knight wrote:So our wingers now are Gervinho, Walcott and the Ox.. and the 4th choice would be.. Benayoun??

We could do without that loan move NOW, to be honest.

Rosicky and Park can also play in the forward roles. That's 6 players for 2 positions.

Diaby, Afobe, Ozyakup if they are available.

i could technically play there, but how many of them will do what is necessary, i.e change a game. none that you mention appear to9 have that ability. im sure rambo and wilshere have played wide forward too, doesnt mean they are any good at it

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:

vyom.chaudhary wrote:can't really think of any reason other then he pushed for it.
his contributions this season:swansea(h),sunderland(a),qpr(h)..thats 9 points.
even if he could have helped in getting 3-4 points more for rest of the season.his stay for rest of the seasonwould have been worth it.however shit he might be,he is no worse then walcott right now.can you imagine wenger letting walcott leave in current situation.dnt think so
really bad move in my opinion

What about the times he has under-contributed? Times where if someone else was on in stead of him, they could have changed the game.

thats the whole point.we have no one who could have been there on the pitch instead of him and could change the game.
even though he has under-contributed on countless occasion,but before every major match in last 3 years every arsenal fan used to have this hope somewhere that the only player who can come off the bench and change the game in seconds is arshavin..even though he failed on most of the occasions.
and guess what.his last game for the club..he actually did it
but there is no other player in current team(talking about the bench strength) you can even hope this from.

If we assume Walcott and Gervais are still first choice wide forwards.

Then I think The Ox and Benayoun are more likely to make a difference when coming on.

Am I correct in hearing that Afobe is recently back from injury? Maybe this, combined with the good news on Wilshere, lead to Wenger allowing the move.

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:If we assume Walcott and Gervais are still first choice wide forwards.

Then I think The Ox and Benayoun are more likely to make a difference when coming on.

Am I correct in hearing that Afobe is recently back from injury? Maybe this, combined with the good news on Wilshere, lead to Wenger allowing the move.

I do believe he is Jonathan...and if I am right he scored in a reserve game the other night....

Afobe is back and firing, he could possibly feature in the first team.

Hopefully the first team won't need Afobe this season. Of course, like any Arsenal fan, I'd love to see the young man have a successful career with us, however, him featuring this season would mean a totally depleted Arsenal side full of injuries, unless he is the next Messi.

Really good article from gunnerblog about Arshavin, pretty much sums up my feelings about him. No matter how useless he was at times, he gave me some fantastic memories and was a truly skilled player.

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Those sneaky Russians. Just when we thought transfer activity for the season was done and dusted, Andrey Arshavin and Zenit St Petersburg have colluded to smuggle the diminutive attacker back to his hometown club on loan. As the Russian transfer window slammed shut, Arshavin rolled Indiana Jones-style through the ever-decreasing gap. If he’d been a foot taller, he might not have made it.

At the time I’m writing this, full details of the move have not emerged, but it seems Zenit will pay a £1m fee as well as taking over Arshavin’s £80,000 p/week pay packet. Presumably they’ll also have first refusal when Andrey makes his exit permanent in the summer.

I have to say, I’m disappointed to see him go. On a personal level, I had a lot of time for him as a player and a bloke, even as his form declined. But even I had accepted that his time at the club was hurtling towards its conclusion. What rankles more than his departure itself is the unusual timing.

Why are Arsenal voluntarily letting a squad member leave at a point in the season when it is impossible to replace them? I accept that we have Gervinho, Walcott, Benayoun and Oxlade-Chamberlain to fight for space on the wings, but with the exception of The Ox none of them are in particularly convincing form. Arshavin, for all his flaws, had shown an ability to come off the bench and make a difference – see his exceptional cross for Thierry Henry’s winner at Sunderland.

That was to be his last contribution to the first-team. He was an unused substitute at Milan and back at the Stadium of Light, before scoring two goals in a humbling outing for the Reserves. Arshavin saw his place in pecking order, and decided to bolt. He’s Russia’s captain for EURO 2012, and needs match practise ahead of what could be his final major tournament.

Of course, it could be argued that the departure of the Arshavin of 2012 is no great loss. He is a shadow of the man we signed, in every respect apart from his waistline. Back in February 2009, Arshavin’s signing was the most exciting since the arrival of Jose Reyes – possibly even Dennis Bergkamp. It’s easy to forget, but as the venerable Goonerholic pointed out on Twitter last night, at the time of his arrival Arshavin was a far more established name than either Mario Goetze or Eden Hazard are now. This was the man who had lit up Euro 2008 and inspired a resurgent Zenit to silverware. Arsenal were struggling and in danger of losing their Champions League spot – a now familiar scenario – and Arshavin was the man charged with saving our season.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that he did it. People talk about the four goal haul at Liverpool as if it was an isolated night of brilliance, but it wasn’t. For those few months between February and May, he was electrifying, playing with a roaming brief from the left of a 4-4-2. He scored one particularly remarkable goal against Blackburn, skipping along the byline before lifting the ball over Paul Robinson from the most acute of angels. The laziness that would later blight his game was still there; it was just tempered by the player’s sheer brilliance. He was a magician with motivation. Arshavin had made his big career move and it was paying dividends, for everyone.

At the start of the 2009/10 season, several seasoned pundits tipped Arshavin as a potential Footballer of the Year. Arsene Wenger, not one given to hyperbole over individuals, said of his star player:

“The Premier League needs a star like Arshavin now that Cristiano Ronaldo has gone. Arshavin stands for all that we love in football.

He is not only a great player but he has an honest, refreshing attitude. When there’s no penalty, he never complains. He’s not a drama queen. He’s fantastic for the Premier League.

Four or five years ago, the likes of Messi or Kaka would have come to England [rather than Spain] so it is important we have great players like Arshavin.”

However, after a bright start to the season, including a thirty yard thunderbolt at Old Trafford, Arshavin began to fade. He was played out of position as a lone striker for long period, and his form suffered. Then began the decline that would lead to him becoming more Carling Cup than Cristiano Ronaldo; more Michelin man than Messi.

Quite how and why it went wrong is hard to say. Certainly lack of application was a factor, but as stated before, even in his heyday at Zenit Arshavin was lazy. Strangely, the 4-3-3 that you would imagine to be so perfect for his talents never provided him with the same space as our more liberal 4-4-2. His roaming role evolved in to that of a conventional winger. And defending a full-back was never high on his list of priorities.

At times it was sad to watch him. He couldn’t trap a ball, let alone beat a man. Confidence was certainly an issue, and it often felt like he didn’t have the desire and drive required to come back. The talent was never, ever in question.

Even those dark days had their moments. Arshavin has provided more memories in three years than Tomas Rosicky has in six. Nothing, surely, topped this – that magical winner against Barcelona at the Emirates:

I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear as that goal went in. And I wasn’t alone. It was a remarkable night, one on which we beat the world’s greatest football team, and it was Arshavin’s goal that did it.

That moment felt like the start of something. Looking back at that goal now, it was more the end. Watch that goal – Cesc, to Nasri, to Arshavin. All three players have since departed, in the space of 12 months. Whilst we’ve made some good signings, I wouldn’t say any have the raw natural talent that trio possess. There is now a gaping creative void in the squad – something you never thought you’d say about an Arsene Wenger team.

There will be plenty who will say ‘Good riddance’ to Arshavin, and I understand why. I don’t feel that way myself. I loved his style, his character, his portly gait. I empathise with the aesthete in him – a fashion design graduate who loved a beautiful goal and loathed a jog around cones. A luxury player who was doomed to fail in a side that became less luxurious with every passing season.

Goodbye, Andrey. And thanks for the memories.

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http://gunnerblog.com/2012/02/24/arshavin-leaves-memories-misgivings-mystification/

ANDREY ARSHAVIN admits he had to quit Arsenal or risk missing out on Euro 2012.

Arshavin was regarded as one of Europe's leading players when moved to the Emirates in a £15million deal three years ago.

But he failed to live up to his billing and has found himself behind Gervino, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the Gunners' pecking order this season.

Arshavin said: "I hope here in Zenit I will receive everything I need to prepare for the 2012 European championships in the best possible way.

"I believe that it's been the best possible decision for me — to return to my native town, to help my native club and myself.

"Zenit made me the right offer at the right time as I was having certain problems at Arsenal with too little match practice."

The 30-year-old playmaker also revealed Zenit were the only club who enquired about his services.

He added: "It was unlikely for me to join any other club as Zenit were the only side who made Arsenal and me a serious proposal."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4157112/Andrey-Arshavin-I-had-to-quit-Arsenal-to-save-my-Euro-2012-dream.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=Football