Arshavin to Arsenal rumours confirmed + other Fab stuff

It’s been another fine day in Brisbane and I’m spending the afternoon polishing off the carton of Tiger beer I picked up earlier in the week. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

It’s very good news today with the confirmation of Arsenal’s interest in Andrei Arshavin being confirmed by both the player and Zenit St Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat. Arshavin has said that he “hopes the clubs can come to an agreement” while Advocaat has made the following, very interesting comments:

”I am aware that Arsenal are interested but I don’t know any more than that. However, I am expecting Arshavin to leave Zenit for another club.”

So the plot thickens. It’s extremely promising to hear the interest from Arsenal is genuine and in my opinion it is a deal that should eventually go through. At the moment reports are that Zenit value Arshavin at £20million but with the Russian threatening to buy himself out of his contract at the end of the season I think that value will be lowered to something around £12 million, a fair price in my opinion.

When you consider that Arsene Wenger picked up the likes of Jose Antonio Reyes, Samir Nasri and Alex Hleb for around that sort of price I think it would be money well spent. Anyone who has watched Arshavin play for Zenit or the Russian national team will realise his game is based on quickness of mind as much as quickness of feet and I feel he is a player who will have an impact on the team well into his thirties. As such, I think a £12 million splurge would be a good investment.

In an interesting way I think the arrival of Arshavin would have a supremely positive impact on our defence as well. He is a player who is so talented at unlocking defences with clever movement and passing and I feel his presence would be a great advantage for us against teams who sit back and try to hit us on the break. For this Arsenal squad attack is the best form of defence and as such I feel a player like Arshavin could have a huge impact at both ends of the field.

Anyway, it hasn’t happened yet so I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.

Other news for today centres around the two Fab’s in our squad; club captain Cesc Fabregas and second-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. Fabregas has made comments about his desire to return from injury to lead the team to glory in the FA Cup while Fabianski has been speaking about his efforts to become first-choice keeper at the club.

I don’t think anyone would begrudge Cesc the chance of leading Arsenal to FA Cup glory but Fabianski is perhaps a more polarising subject. He seems like a lovely guy, Lukasz, but in all honesty I’ve not been overly impressed by his performances in an Arsenal shirt. I know there are plenty of supporters who prefer his all-action, all-domineering style to the more relaxed demeanour of Manuel Almunia but I don’t count myself amongst them. He seems a bit scattered on the pitch and although there’s no point writing off Fabianski at this stage (he’s only 23 after all) but I think he’s a good season or two away from claiming the number one spot.

And that’s just about all I’ve got to say today. Just a quick reminder that if you really, really, really enjoy reading the Arsenal FC Blog you should click here to subscribe and receive daily updates via your inbox or via RSS feeds. Being ridiculously biased I’d highly recommend you do. 

Anyhoo, have a good one all.

Have your say on Arshavin, Fabregas or Fabianski by leaving a comment.

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Comments

  1. I think the reason I’m not all that excited about Arshavin is becuase most people are basing his “talent” on what they saw in the Euro Cup. His team mate who plays for Rottenham looked good to, and now isn’t anything at all. Just because he had a good Euro Cup doesn’t mean he is gonna carry on that form. Nothing much was ever said about him before it, and haven’t heard much since. Which makes me think he just had a good season and a good Euro Cup. Hopefully if he does become an Arsenal player he can prove me wrong and be just as good as he was at the Euro Cup. But i must say I would rather see Wenger using that money to entice Everton into selling Arteta rather then take a chance on Arshavin.

  2. Dont think arteta is for sale. He also was realy good against b.munich a couple of seasons back in eufa cup final.he wil bring alot to our team

  3. For fabianski getting a number one spot in arsenal is something that will take years to mature. It can only be true if wenger gives ur on shay given. We need given even at twelve million pounds or lets look at hennessy. He is a promising young keeper.
    Am doubting whether arshavin will pair well in the mid alongside cesc when he gets back. All the same still remain gunner whether good or bad.
    Posting from Nigeria, University of Nigeria to be presize . On behalf of all arsenal fans in NSUKKA

  4. He can also play on the wing.we wil have alot op options once rosicky,walcott ,fabregas and eduardo is coming back.it wil be some attacking force.and hopeful.les time 4 eboue,song

  5. @ Demetrio – Arshavin was quality before Euro 2008. He was the reason Zenit won the UEFA Cup and he’s consistently been a good player for a while now.

    Will anyone ever make you happy? 😛

  6. I think arsharvin will give the team that extra zip in the final third. He’ll do till we have young jack ready 2 replace him in a few seasons time.

  7. It’s just positive that we are actually talking about Arsene buying in some talent and at the right price, Arshavin would be a really positive addition to the team and give everyone a lift. This would be a BIG news signing and at least indicate a level of ambition which many have started to doubt. Anyone who thinks that Arshavin is not a quality player is bonkers, in my opinion. I also think we need one more. Arteta would be a great buy but I really don’t think Everton will sell unless the player is really keen on a move. If the Arshavin deal didn’t go through now that the story has broken, I think it would be a real disappointment to players and team alike. Again, I’m keeping fingers x’d. Neilo

  8. @Demetrio,Arshavin is absolutely a good buy for us.I started to re-watch again all the Arsenal games that I have in copy (as I really missed that beautifull game we used to play since the starting of this season,Its just wonderfull to see Fab spoiling TH with Fabulous passes))since 2004, and Ive concluded that one of the biggest lack on our game was that good dynamic fast winger, the like of Ljunberg, Bergkamp,Rosicky,Hleb,Robert pires, durin the times of Asley cole etc.. these guys were just the engine of our beautifull football not mentionnin all our center Midfld play makers as P-Vierra, Fab, and Flamini.
    Walcott is fast and will be the best in the world if he continiously works on the way he handles the ball, as well as Nasri who on the other hand dont really have a speedy run but very compact on the way he moves on the pitch and fast enough when he dribbles.But for the two lads to be compared with Rosicky, Pires,Hleb and bergkamp is still a bit of a question.Arshavin is one of these players who plays like Rosicky or Hleb but has got lil bit more quality such as:more goal minded,more agressive, and more intelligent.We really need Arshavin, not only to get trophies but to get our beautifull play back in the game again.Cant wait to see Walcott and especially Fab back again.I beleive many Fans out there are dreamin to see this line up=
    Sagna-Gallas-Djourou-Clichy
    Toure
    Walcott- Fab – Rosicky
    Arsha
    Ade

    OR TAKE GALLAS OUT PUT TOURE WITH THE 4BACK LINE AND BRING IN RVP IN FRONT WITH 4-4-2 FULL ATTACKIN MDFLDR
    This is an umbeattable team, the best in the world, and will play the most beautifull football in this planet.Bring on Barca, inter, real ,manu, liv,chelski….anybody!!!!!!!!
    Sorry guys but Im just daydreamin in front of my laptops.

  9. @ Demetrio
    Cheer up mate, be positive for once. I know Italians are perfectionists but you, my good friend, are way too negative. Just smile and be happy, Arshavin just might suprise you.

    Anyway, Fabianski’s agressive style is what made Lehman such a great goalkeeper, Lehman took many risks, he commanded the 18 area (something Almunia is afraid to do for some reason), Fabianski grew up watching Lehman so its only natural for him to adopt Lehman’s style. At the moment im happy with Almunia, even if he has the slowest reaction time in history, he can pull off some nice saves. Wenger must stick with him ’till the end of the season, but next season Fabianski must be given a chance.

  10. I think the biggest lack with our game is the way our players move on the pitch, especially POSITIONNING WITHOUT BALL.Our guys dont just move to the right direction on the pitch and evn if they do, they dont do it fast enugh.I think that its all the combination and also the players havent really found their real position on the pitch

  11. With this Arshavin transfer, every couple a days, a new part in this story develops. I wouldnt be surprised that if at the weekend, Arshavin announces he has a verbal agreement with Arsenal or something like that. Same thing happened with Nasri and he eventually signed for us. Well I do believe Arshavin will sign for us and I will be happy to see him play for us.

    Also Ghana Captain Stephen Appiah is on a trial at Tottenham which is something I am a bit jealous about, because he is a good player and Spuds could get him for free like we could have. I dont expect AW to buy any free agents.

    Would like to see the rumours about Shay Given actually happen but I fear he will move to Man City for £8 million as they are prepared to offer ridiculous wages (I mean Scott Parker on £100,00-a-week is just bizarre) and AW’s faith in Almunia will see us miss out on the highly talented irishman.

    My thoughts on the 2 player + cash bids that we are currently linked with. First the Toure + £6 million for Stephen Ireland, I would be sad to see Toure go and also I rate Toure higher than Ireland and I think it should be them giving us the money not the other way around. However if the deal could change so Richards comes to the Emirates,I would welcome the move although I would still be sad to see Kolo go.
    The second is Bendtner + £5 million for Matthew Upson, another shock move which I dont think will finalise. I would like to see Niklas go out on loan and I have a weird view on defenders and unlike most fans, I would feel slightly dissappointed to see Upson or Hangeland arrive. Mexes, Alex, Richards (as mentioned) and Milito will be the only defenders I will be happy with.

  12. A very good read from untoldarsenal:

    “In the end that is what is seems to come down to. Is Wenger, as I believe, not just a genius manager, but one who is able to adapt to changing circumstances BEFORE they happen, or is he exactly the opposite: a man so transfixed with his own vision that he can’t change.

    The negative case is the easier one to pitch: Arsenal had year after year ending up either first or second in the EPL – plus a selection of cup wins. Players could come and go, and yet the succcess rolled on. Wenger could kick out Ian Wright without even letting him touch the ball in a cup final, and yet still find better and better players. Anelka goes, in comes Henry – the never ending chain. Then, suddenly he lost it, and now we probably won’t get into Europe next season.

    The positive case is more subtle – and thus harder to pitch. Wenger’s most staggering invention (world-wide scouting) was copied widely, while billionaire owners came along able to by-pass the hard work because there were willing to spend anything on anyone, just to try and put a winning team together. After months of hard work Arsenal could discover player X, only to find someone else coming in at the last minute with an insane bid.

    Against such tactics Arsenal could not compete. Yes the brilliant players still came through, but they were harder to find, and had to be purloined at a younger and younger age. Even then, the late night prowlers from the KGB in Fulham, and more recently Sheik Yermoney’s men in Manchester, could always outbid anything Arsenal did.

    To counteract this Wenger came up with a new twist – building a youth team that incorporated the best players in the world at their age, signed in a way that other clubs couldn’t match. By giving these players an early chance in the team (he argued) he would then become known as the manager who gives youth its chance – making the players more likely to come to Arsenal than go anywhere else.

    The benefit of course is that we can attract these wonderful young players (Theo, Ramsey, to name but two). The downside is that they are still young, and so can make errors.

    But there is an upside which most followers of the negative approach don’t recognise. It is this: young players are generally much better at changing their style and approach than older players. Take someone like Cesc – playing alongside a Gilberto or Denilson he plays in one way. Playing alongside Flamini, he does it differently.

    Because fans generally like players who push forward and shoot, the Cesc next to Flamini is considered “good” while the most defensive Cesc next to Denilson is considered “negative” or “a restriction on his talent”. “He’s forced to play further back,” is the common complaint, forgetting that Denilson on the other hand is playing more forward than Flamini.

    But to me the argument in the end is about sustainability. The billionaire model (KGB Fulham, Sheik Yermoney Manchester, Aston “hold your head if you go down” Villa, West Iceland United), just like the “buy the club with its own money” approach that has been used at Manchester B and Liverpool I, cannot and will not be sustained. One instance: we still don’t know how Liverpool are going to refinance – and they have to do it this month, or the banks take over. West Ham are desparately looking for money and can’t find it anywhere.

    Arsenal have none of these problems and yet many supporters refuse to believe that the likes of Manchester and Liverpool could fall apart. Perhaps it is just us old farts who believe it, because we saw Manchester Bankrupt and the tiny totts in the second division, and can remember Liverpool and KGB Fulham as nothingness clubs.

    The uniqueness of Arsenal is that it keeps reforming itself and coming back for more. My father went to Highbury and watched one of the greatest teams in the world in the 1930s. I have done the same since Wenger arrived.

    Sustainability – which means at the moment the youth policy and waiting for success – means that Arsenal will be around, at the top, for the rest of my life. I doubt that this will be true of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, West Ham United, Chelsea or Aston Villa.”

  13. Theo Walcott is in negotiations with Arsenal Football Club over a new contract. Rather than leave the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season, the agent of the England international has hit back at claims the player is unhappy at the Gunners. Indeed, Colin Gordon confirmed the former Southampton youngster is in talks with Arsene Wenger¿s side about extending his time in North London. “We are negotiating with Arsenal and we are doing so very serenely,¿ said Gordon. “I think that we will not have any difficulty to renew the contract.” Goes to show you why you cant trust the tabliods who get quotes from Walcott representatives, which could in theroy be anyone who has helped him out on a daily bases so the local school teacher maybe.

  14. People go on about Arshavin being a late bloomer, and “if he is so good why hasn’t he been picked up by someone else earlier?”. But who can honestly say that Zidane was a household name until he was around 25 years old or so. OK i’m sure some people would have heard of him but was he really on any English football fans radar until he was playing for Juventus. (Even tho Arsenal very nearly signed him just before his transfer to Juve in a double swoop for him and Lizarazu from Bordeaux. This was back when teamtalk was a teletext page and had an extortionately priced phone line that i used to call every day after school for transfer news… to my parents fury!!!) Dont get me wrong, i’m not comparing Zidane to Arshavin in terms of quality. In my opinion, Zidane along with Bergkamp are the two greatest footballers i have had the pleasure of watching. However whats to say Arshavin could not have a strong impact on our team and go on to become a great signing for us. He has undoubted class and ability. His touch and vision look fantastic. He has pace and skill to beat players. Lets face it, if he wasn’t good Wenger would not want to sign him. I for one would be very happy seeing him run out at the Emirates.

  15. please please please can some1 explain to me why as fans/ supporters there is so much negativity about the team and even more so Arsene right now. Now I don’t get to many games but does this mean i’m not watching the same games or i don’t have the same manager than what i call the ‘negs’ on here! Its not the end of the world, were not about to be relegated and we are in 5th spot, 3 points from a champions league place with 1/2 the season still to play. We’ve been here before when we pipped the yids to 4th spot, remember! I’ve read loads of these posts recently and am amazed at how negative so many are – raging about the attitude of players like Gallas and the commitment of Bentdner- it doesn’t take a genious to work out that if the fans aren’t behind the team, a young team at that, that negativity will spread, yes even to the players, after they can read too, they can hear the boos and more importantly football is a confidence game and right now if i were that way inclined if i was a player i might be reaching for my noose – come on the mightly gunners, wenger do your magic after all we’ve still got 21 whole days of the transfer window!!!

  16. As the Spuds continue to splash their cash and find yet another £15m to sign a striker today, we at Arsenal are left to make do with both manager and club chairman talking about the affects of the current economic climate and how it influences our transfer policy.

    I’m certain that I am not the only Arsenal fan who is furious as to why we remain prudent; considering the great wealth’s that we pull in from the Emirates. It simply makes a mockery as to why we supposedly needed to move there in the first place and it is clear it has become nothing less than a financial burden- I often wonder if in the last three years we would have remained trophy less had we actually stayed at Highbury.

    So cash strapped is seemingly the company line and Wenger is being forced to scrape the barrel in order to bring reinforcements to a club that has seemingly shut up shop already this season and whose greatest challenge this year is to merely retain our status as a Top-4 club. Our title challenge finished long ago and we don’t have enough strength in our squad to mount a serious assault on the Champions League, therefore we should use this window to start laying the foundations for next season and bring in players and blood them in, whilst shifting out some deadwood, or should I say those who have outstayed their welcome.

    I have to say that I have always been a huge fan of Kolo Toure over the years. One of the invincibles, Kolo in my eyes has been one of our most consistent performers and in my mind should have been given the captains armband when Henry moved to Barca. I honestly believe that mentally Toure hasn’t recovered from the snub, especially as it was given to his not so friendly sidekick and we have seen the player’s performance level and consistency drop. Toure and Gallas has never looked like the match made in heaven, however I can’t help but feel that Wenger sacrificed the wrong player.

    Speculation has been rife in the past few weeks that all is not well with the Ivorian. Reports of a training ground bust up with Gallas, followed by an apparent transfer request, and the constant £8m links to Manchester City suggest that Toure feels it is time to move on. I will be sad to see him go, but I really think a clean break is needed by both parties. Arsene has apparently turned down Kolo’s request for a move, but I wonder if it is honestly would be a wise move to keep a player whose head is clearly elsewhere. Whether Wenger is merely biding his time and hoping to clinch a £5m+Bendtner swap deal with West Ham for Matt Upson before agreeing to let him go remains to be seen, but for me it is the right move for all parties and in Upson we will have more than an adequate replacement for the Ivorian.

  17. Not conviced about Asharvin man but my instinct tells me he is the best thing available now and Wenger needs to strengthen squad. So what do u do,buy!
    If he shines at Arsenal,really i will be proved wrong but so excited!

  18. what makes arsenal arsenal? is it the players? is it the style of their play? or are you all just supporting a name? kolo has appeared in more than half the arsenal fixtures in the last 8 years. does that make him part of arsenal? does kolo make arsenal arsenal? or would bringing in a bunch of new players define the new arsenal? you guys need to grow up. you’re all nowhere near the level of management that wenger is at, nor the board of directors. to most of you, arsenal’s just a football club. but to others, it’s their business, their life. to the players, it’s for the passion. look at walcott. look at fabianski. so we’ll bring in upson, arshavin, veloso and alonso? then what happens? arsenal will be overcrowded with players that are first-team quality. the balance is almost there. we just need one, maximum two more signings. that’ll make the competition for first-team football fair. this isn’t master league. this isn’t football manager. it’s real life soccer.

  19. Arshavin is a good acquisition indeed. Hopefully he is not injury prone like most of Arsenal players

  20. I admit I’m fairly ignorant about Arshavin, but doesn’t he play up top? Please correct me if I’m wrong (as if you wouldn’t have without me asking). I remember watching him play Euro 2008 and I was impressed but I’m not sure how he would slot into a midfield role.
    Don’t get me wrong, he has class and I would be happy to see him in an Arsenal jersey but I’m not sure how he answers the most pressing concerns.
    I have seen a few people throw Kolo’s name in the mix as a DM and it’s an intriguing idea. With the kind of defensive presence and cover he would provide our back four of Clichy, Djourou, Gallas and Sagna would be quite acceptable I think.
    Our final three mids coming from Nasri, Ramsey, Denilson and Vela. That’s not counting Cesc, Walcott or Rosicky. Each of whom would bolster our midfield even more. When is Walcott supposed to return btw?

    -and yes. I realize I just tried to make an argument for the squad as it is. Maybe I’ve been listening to Arsene for too long.

  21. Honestly I will be very pissed off if Arsene signs Arshavin and dont sign what we really need.

    The only way that I dont get mad is if Arsene sign him and also signs the Defensive Midfielder that we are needing since the summer and a top defender to replace Gallas.

    What Arsene do when our current midfielders be fit? He will put Arshavin on the right? when Walcott is so much better. Or he will put him on the left? when Nasri is at the same level and Rosicky is far better.

    I cant believe that now we really need Arshavin!! Im pretty sure that if Arsene signs him is just for the pressure of the fans to sign some star.

  22. So true as per Mexican Gunner. Why we need a player for £20 when we can cope up with it having Nasri play at fabregas place. Our main priority is defense we can see that through the season that we easily consed goals. The taking point through out the season was defense. I accept Ashavin in TOP TOP player but what we will do when Cesc is back and so as Theo and Rosicky.Right now what we need is a defensive midfielder and good tall defender how can head the ball in set pieces. We don’t have any CDM who is of class act. Diaby and Song are Good and even Deni is Good. But they still in there learning things from games. So Prefer money rather to be splashed on Defense rather than offense which is already good. AW is good thinker of the game and probably end at not signing Arshavin which I feel is good for the Club and for him.

  23. There will be space for Rosicky,Walcott (Who is the king of the RW),Fab in the middle, Nasri might be substitute as well as RVP depending on our line up but for now I dont see Rosicky being fit for this season, he ll defntly recover from the injury but he’ll mostly start on the bench,he will only be ready by next season, so thats why Nasri will get more space on the startin 11.Walcott will be back very soon and I evn think that he will play when we play Roma-(Nista).You will have ur startin line up as I mentionned above.You put Nasri instead of Rosicky,(Also By playing With Arshavin,Nasri will learn to move fast without the ball),You put Deni instead of Fab, and Vela instead of Walcott.Or you can also play it this way, which most probably I suppose AW will do:@4-4-2
    Same full back
    Eboue-Deni-Arshavin-Nasri
    RVP-Ade

  24. Another thought that just came to my mind is that AW might be playing Toure more often now becoz of his lately transfer request, and I would be defntly happy to see that, and Diaby would be given more chances now in front regarding his recent gud performance, but lets just see whts gonna happen 1st with the Arsha transfer!!!.
    As I mentionned above that ive just watched all the Arsenal game 2007 and 2008,Ive personnaly gave up with this idea of strngthenin our defence.Its obvious, we need CDM,and I strongly recommend Toure for that job, but finally, I found out our main PBM:
    AW is a man who beleives in:THE BEST DEFENCE IS ATTACKIN.He has built the team that way.When I watched our 2007 games, i could see that most of these teams who has defeated us this season played exactly the same style of game last season but they couldnt perform so much as our attackin side were so strong for them so that they were always held at their own defensive side.The game is completely Psycological.At the 1st 10mn of the game,they try to attack @their best,but just when we start attackin then all their mdlfldr start to pull back coz most of our attack are all dangerous.And this is what makes the diffrence between the so called BIG 4 and the rest of the league.The Pbm isnt really that our defence is so weak,It is our attack which is WEAK.Durin the first half of this season, Our guys couldnt perform any attackin strategy planned by AW, coz 1st:they were new to it,coz they have only practiced it durin trainin session.2nd:Some of the key players are gone.3rd:Even AW didnt know where exactly is the best position for those new players,the likes of Nasri,Vela, and some of them were all subsitute last year.Plus they are all young players who can improve and change their style game after game.
    Thats why we need Arshavin, to give that fire back on our mdfld again.

  25. @ Gibbs

    You wanna know why we won 4 world cups in Italy?? Not only because we are perfectionist, but because we don’t patronize our players, or teams. Spanish you patronize Arsenal to the point i have never seen. In Italy, if the Azzurri won 2-1 we don’t go hailing to the Gods that we are back on track. We ask why was that one goal scored? Which makes our players better. Its a system that works very well which is why the English had to get a ITALIAN to run their National Team. Capello is the same as me. He wont patronize the English stars, and this is the reason England will win a World Cup under him. This blog could use a bit of reality in it. Arshavin is not proven period. None of you can saw 100% that Arshavin will be great at Arsenal, because he has not proven it. Playing in Russia is not like playing in England. When Russia came up against a big team in the Euro Cup Arshavin was shut down. That’s what worries me, but apparently in this blog if you point out the facts you get called negative. Brilliant you guys are!

    So i may seem negative, but Arsenal could use a few more fans like me, esp in this blog, so people dont get their hopes up because some of you make it seem Arsenal have no probelms and one player will slove the problems we do have. You can call it being negative all you want. But you can also call Italy 4 time world cup winners!!

  26. @ Demetrio
    Well, the Azzuri are 4 time world champs, its a fact, i cant argue with that. But no one said 1 player will solve our problems, i think everyone agrees that we need to make at least 2 signings. I was hoping for Arteta, like you, but he is not for sale. So now the players on my wishlist are Arshavin and Veloso, i said that yesterday… i think. Anyway do you remember the Russia vs Holland game at the Euros? Arshavin was there and he was sensational against the same Holland team that humiliated Italy 3-0 in the group stages, im sure u remember that 1 huh?

    So please, give him a chance.

  27. Just bin following Live Text of the Deby V manure game and it’s funny to see how quickly the fans turn – just like some of us Gooners! Comments about kicking out Nani and Anderson and “Grinding 1-0s against Stoke and Sunderland just aren’t good enough.” sound very familiar…Great that Derby won though and Arsenal’s very own Nacer Barazite, on loan to Derby, came on near the end.

  28. Just realised that we are still in the race for the EPL. If teams like Chelsea and ManU struggle against teams from League1 and the Championship respectively with their full squad, what would stop them from droping points against EPL teams? It looks like Liverpool will end their 19 year drought, and we may also be in with a chance.

  29. @ Demetrio

    You are quite correct in regards to Arshavin…In all honesty what has he done? But if you can get him for 12mill then why not. I would say he would be more of a success at a team like liverpool or Chelsea. Why?

    Because they have the fundementals of a football team all sorted. That is their defence. Which allows players like arshavin to do their roaming and swift attacking plays. Arsenal on the other hand are dismal in defence. Average to poor.
    What Arsen must focus on is getting a GOOD CB, CDM and the rest will sort itself out.
    If Arsenal can get 2 good players that are proven in these posititons then ill be worried…

    If not then the only reason ill be checking the arsenal results is to see if they can make the CL next season ahead of AV

  30. I disagree with Ronaldo7 (and who wouldn’t with a name like that?).
    It’s time for Arsenal to flex their financial Muscle. Latest reports I’m reading say that Juventus is also in for him. Let’s not get out-gunned here again, boys. I don’t want to read ‘Well we tried to buy him but in the end the price was too high.’ etc.
    Arshavin will be a great filip for the team whatever happens. And a filip for the fans too – who need one. We’re not going to have all these players fit at the same time anyway – and if we did, great – competition for places. Now there’s a novelty.
    I’ve no idea how the Russian lad will cope with the EPL but what the hell, let’s give him a chance to prove his doubters wrong and show English fans what he’s got. It’s gonna be good to see some outright ball skills on the pitch for us at the very least.
    And Ronaldo7 may say he’s not worried about Arshavin – let’s wait til he’s running into the box with the clod Ferdinand trying to get the ball off him.

  31. I said this before and ill say it again. If we do get Arshavin, it will NOT be for £20m, it will be for far less. Spending so much money on Arshavin would be a waste IMO. Id rather have Afellay or Ireland for £10m than Arshavin for £20m. Veloso would be an amazing signing for us, i still hope and pray that we do sign him.

  32. hey can someone answer this question
    how good was arshavin in the semi final of the euro’s?
    if my memory serves me right he seemed non exsistent…

  33. @ RBP – I think the description of him being ‘non-existent’ is a bit off. The reports are that he was ‘marked off the pitch’ by Senna and Co but when you consider he was helping Russia punch above his weight and they were playing clearly the best side at the competition it was hardly his fault.

    Regardless, just because a player goes quiet in a game doesn’t mean he is a poor player. Zidane was by far the dominant player at Euro 2000 and he had a very quiet final. It’s not the be all and end all.

  34. never meant to say he was bad
    no player can give 100% every game
    and he took the netherlands out of the competetion, which is a feat,
    seeing as i thought they were the best team until they were eliminated…

  35. Demetreo,
    Anonymous once posted to another blogger; you can write whatever you want….But you need to sell it. We just aren’t buying it. As far as Italy goes? Not an Italian website I could care less about the Italian National team. Personally, I routed for Spain (Cesc) and picked Russia as the Cinderalla team in the Euro’s. Got both my wishes. And, now here Arsenal are possibly acquiring a good fit…and it’s not good enough? Maybe this move won’t bring us 3 trophies this year but it is a good start.

  36. I wasnt sold on Arshavin and I thought the hype was based on 2 games in the Euros… What changed my mind was watching some videos of him and reading other players’ opinions of him. The kid has skills and seems to be the perfect type of Arsenal player. Sure anyone could bust but I have no problem shelling out some money for him. We will obviously still need a DMF though

  37. Arshavin is versatile midfield player who can play both centrally and wide midfield. He is a better dribbler who can also retain possession and make a pin point pass. I think he will be perfect in Bergkamp role behind striker. I would take him instead of Diaby playing Bergy role or Eboue/Denilson/Even Toure… playing wide midfield.

    I think Arsenal hasn’t created a lot of chances this season compared to other seasons. Arshavin can create and score goals. 15 million looks a good amount for him.

  38. ramugunner said it perfectly… he brings creativity and varsatility to the squad… I would imagine teams are quite worried about the signing… Its unfortunate he cant play UCL because I would be quite confident with him against Roma…

  39. what im saying is … arsenal need to fix other areas in the side before thy fix there attacking play.

    As i think they have enough good attackers.

  40. I would agree with you but with half the team injured, to have any chance of competing we need reinforcements in attack as well. Rosicky, Eduardo, Walcott, Fabregas all out for extended periods. Arguably our 4 best players… Ideally we sign a DMF, shay given, and a CB along with Arshavin but I think thats being too optimistic. I would be satisfied with Arshavin and a DMF of some sort…

  41. Agreed, Arshavin and CDM is must. We need those two players to guarantee our CL qualification. Astonvilla are not a joke this season. They have a better organized defense and some quality players than ours. What we have? Silvestre, Diaby, Eboue, Almunia in our squad.

    Come on Arsene!!

  42. i will be the happiest man in the world,if arshavin can secure a deal with arsenal.its now to add quality to our team.yes will can do it.

  43. we need som1 like ashavin and someone like alonso and a good centre bak i doubt that we’ll buy 3 players those area we need improvements hope arsenal can sign a few players i don’t want him to come to the end of the transfer i didn’t find the special 1

  44. we dont need arshavin, and 20 mio pound is too expensive…nasri could play as playmaker….and he done it great, we win 3-in a row!…we coould play vela in left wing..eboue is doing fine in right wing..get diaby on the bench!..

  45. Whether with arshavn or whatever, i wil stil be a true gunner fan frm Tanzania. I still hope n believe we will finish with wonderful results that nobody wil believe… I mean we are the new champions but curently in a wrong position. C’MON GUNNERS LET’S DO IT!

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