Arshavin Week: His best bits from 2008/09

Andrey Arshavin is the runner-up in our Player of the Season poll after receiving 19.4 per cent of the votes cast. As a result we're dedicating a week on the website to the Russian playmaker.

Here, Arsenal.com reporter Chris Harris picks out the most memorable moments from Andrey's first campaign in English football.

BEST GOAL
Arsenal 4-0 Blackburn Rovers, Emirates Stadium, March 14
Two of Andrey's awesome foursome at Anfield are in the frame but the Russian's first goal for the Club gets my vote. Andrey appeared to open his account with a close-range finish after 80 seconds of that game against Blackburn but replays showed it was an own goal from Andre Ooijer. It was just as well because, in the 65th minute, the Russian scored a goal he would be proud to call his first for Arsenal. Collecting a precise pass from Denilson on the left there was little on and much to do, but Arshavin dropped a shoulder, shimmied past Danny Simpson and found the perfect trajectory from the acutest of angles to lift the ball over Paul Robinson and into the top corner. Arsenal fans have seen a broad spectrum of spectacular goals down the years but nothing quite like that.

BEST ASSIST
For Bendtner, Portsmouth 0-3 Arsenal, Fratton Park, May 2
Seven assists in just 14 starts underlines just how important Andrey is to Arsenal - if he's not scoring goals, he is generally involved in their construction. The Russian's assists came in all shapes and sizes last season. There was the tenacious prod to pick out Theo Walcott at Wigan, the piledriver which was parried into Emmanuel Eboue's path against Blackburn and the driving run which earned a penalty at Portsmouth. But what stood out was Andrey's accuracy from wide positions and dead balls. His deliveries have pace and precision as Kolo Toure and Nicklas Bendtner will testify having headed home free-kicks from the Russian at West Brom and Newcastle respectively. Andrey went one better at Fratton Park though, generating the same whip and pace with a first-time cross to pick out Bendtner for the first goal. Most players would have controlled and then crossed; the Russian has the confidence in his technique to bypass the safe option.

BEST PERFORMANCE
Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal, Anfield, April 21
Andrey would be the first to admit that he was on the periphery for large chunks of that astonishing game at Anfield in April. But his four-goal haul tells its own story. The Russian star struggled to cope with the pace of that breathless encounter on Merseyside but, like all world-class performers, he was ruthless when his chances came along. Andrey showed a genuine striker's instinct for his first and third goals, finding space to prod in Cesc Fabregas' pass before capitalising on a defensive error to finish instantly. His second goal is many fans' favourite and no wonder: he nicked the ball off a defender and fizzed a shot in from 20-odd yards. But I prefer his fourth. After a gruelling night's work Andrey still had the stamina and pace to keep up with Theo Walcott's lightning break and his left-footed finish was unerring despite the pressure of the moment. If that was a sign of things to come, next season can't come quick enough.

BEST QUOTE
It didn't take Andrey long to find his feet in the Premier League - but he admitted in March that English football was harder than it looked. "I watched the matches that were broadcast in Russia whenever possible," he said. "But to tell the truth it seemed less difficult on TV. Only now do I understand how dynamic and hard the football is here. I had no solid plans [of moving to London]. But I already thought about England and moreover English is an international language and can be handy everywhere. All experienced people said that the better you know the language the easier it will be. And even if I had not left Russia, knowledge of a foreign language cannot be a waste. Now I would like to score as soon as possible. Everybody expected me to score in my very first match but that never happens, especially with me." It didn't take him long to put that right - within two weeks of those quotes the Russian had scored that beauty against Blackburn.

BEST TRIBUTE
Arsène Wenger knew he had a world-class talent on his hands when he swooped for Andrey in the January transfer window. But the Arsenal manager has been pleasantly surprised by the tenacity of his new Russian recruit. The Blackburn game summed up Andrey's attitude when he needed four stitches in his foot at half-time but insisted on playing on - and scoring his first goal for the Club. “There was no question about him playing in the second half,” said Wenger. “He is not a soft boy at all. He is never in the medical room, he is not that type. He is tough. He works hard too. In fact I am quite surprised how hard he works. I think he is a man of challenges. To leave St Petersburg - where he was the star - and go to England at the age of 27, saying ‘I want to start it all again’ you need to have character and like challenges. And he does it in a very focused way I must say."

 

 

[Tuesday, July 07, 2009]

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