‘Smart and lazy’ Andrey Arshavin became an instant Arsenal icon against Liverpool, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were heroes, he was ‘too good for Tottenham’
“I had some other games that were much better,” former Arsenal man Andrey Arshavin has insisted.
But can you really ever beat scoring four goals in a game against Liverpool?
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Arshavin’s four-goal display has gone down in legend
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We all remember it. Yellow and blue kit. Celebrating while shaking his head. Four fingers on his other hand held aloft.
It looked as if he couldn’t comprehend what he was doing. We couldn’t.
“For me it was a regular game – nothing special. I did not feel anything special before the game,” he said in 2019.
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“When I came out onto the pitch and was warming up, I thought ‘we will not lose today’. That was the only thing I knew before the game.
“Of course I could not imagine before that game that I would score four goals.
“If you look at the stats, it was my best game. But in terms of playing style, I had some other games that were much better.”
In reality we shouldn’t be surprised Arshavin looks back on things a little differently. He isn’t your average guy.
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Blessed with an aptitude for mathematics rarely seen in aspiring footballer, former youth coach Sergei Gordeev was drawn to the former midfielder’s ability.
“Arshavin was always quite small,” he said. “He didn’t stand out, but as soon as he received the ball he was a totally different person.”
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Arshavin was a talented youngster and had an immediate impact aged 19
The player himself, reflecting on his career, had faith in his intelligence, too. But also admitted the short-coming which would eventually curtail his career at the top.
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“How would I describe my playing style? Very smart, very lazy at the same time, but with good dribbling and good vision,” he told UEFA in 2021.
He certainly did have smarts, not many young footballers end up studying fashion design, even fewer are likely to have seen their finished articles produced.
Arshavin first came to mainstream west European attention as Russia ended England’s Euro 2008 qualification hopes in October 2007, while at the same time Zenit St Petersburg were battling their way to a famous UEFA Cup win in 2008.
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Arshavin was a hit against England in 2007 in European Championship qualifying
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A 1-0 defeat to Everton saw Arshavin catch the interest of then-manager David Moyes and as the campaign went on and the Russian progressed further, Barcelona, Tottenham and Arsenal, among others, all took notes.
In the final, where Zenit beat Rangers 2-0, Arshavin was the Man of the Match but in 2008, he’d only just begun.
Next stop was the European Championship with Russia and despite missing the first two games through suspension, his impact was dramatic.
He would score against Sweden and Netherlands on the way to a semi-final loss to Spain, but they would win the third/fourth place play-off.
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An incredible 2008 saw Arshavin win the UEFA Cup with Zenit St Petersburg
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Arshavin’s display against Netherlands in a 3-1 victory was one of the best of Euro 2008
A transfer was expected to happen imminently for one of the breakout stars of the year, who would go on to place sixth in the 2008 Ballon d’Or vote.
Time rolled on and by December a deal hadn’t happened although Zenit boss Dick Advocaat knew where he shouldn’t go.
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He said: “As a manager I would like Arshavin to stay but as a person I realise that he deserves more.
“But Andrei is too good for Spurs or Rangers. It would be better for him to stay in St Petersburg than to go to London or Glasgow. Tottenham has a fine reputation but I doubt that Arshavin will want to move there.
“I do not want to offend Roman Pavlyuchenko, but in my opinion Arshavin is a much classier player. He needs to move to a really great club”
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Fellow Russian Pavlyuchenko had already moved to England but Advocaat reckoned Arshavin could do better than joining him at White Hart Lane
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That really great club? Arch-rivals Arsenal for a club-record £15m – below the amounts Zenit rejected from Spurs and Arshavin’s dream club Barcelona, where his heroes Romario, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho had played.
The transfer would eventually go through after the January transfer window in 2009 had shut with the Gunners getting special dispensation to do the deal on February 3.
Three months later that four-goal haul against Liverpool made him the talk of the town.
With Cesc Fabregas – the man he claims is the best he’s played with – the preferred no.10, Arshavin was deployed on the left wing more often than not. Even so, by the end of the 2008/09 season, having made just 12 starts for his new club, he came second in the Player of the Year award.
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Arshavin loved playing alongside Fabregas
The next season things again looked rosy, with Arsene Wenger tipping him to make a big impact. And for two campaigns, things looked good on paper with 16 goals and 12 assists in the league.
His greatest moment though, came in the Champions League, sweeping home a winning goal against Barcelona at the Emirates.
In true Arshavin style, he lifted his shirt over his head to reveal a t-shirt of himself doing his trademark finger-to-lips celebration. We assume he designed it himself.
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That was all in vain though as Barcelona won the second leg of the Round of 16 contest 3-1 at the Camp Nou, and it would turn out, he was already beginning to fade at the Emirates.
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He’d already started the 2-1 League Cup final loss to Birmingham City, while a month prior to the goal against Barca, manager Wenger had admitted the player had seen his performances dip.
Arshavin began to be criticised for his displays from all quarters and a lack of work rate was becoming apparent into the 2011/12 campaign.
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The dip would continue though and culminated in a brutal substitute appearance against Manchester United in January 2012.
A young Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, starring in his third appearance for the club, and having just assisted a Robin van Persie equaliser, was removed and the Russian took his place to a chorus of boos.
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Arshavin’s cameo against Manchester United showcased lack of awareness defensively
Fans were furious at seeing the youngster depart the field, while even Van Persie was spotted aghast at the decision.
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Arshavin’s laziness showed and late on Antonio Valencia danced past him before assisting Danny Welbeck for United’s winner.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Manchester United legend Gary Neville said of his displays: “He looks the most disinterested player in the league, to me. I think he wants to go back to Russia. Well, go back.
“The Arsenal fans don’t want him out there. If the captain’s reacting like that, you’ve got problems.”
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He did have time for one last memorable moment in an Arsenal shirt.
Against Sunderland, an on-loan Thierry Henry scored the only Premier League goal of his second spell with the club on February 11. It was his last ever strike for Arsenal. Arshavin was the man to deliver the ball.
He returned to Zenit on loan making 11 appearances and scored just three goals. It would see him make it to Euro 2012. Russia, though, failed to make it past the group stage and while fans took them to task over their failure, he hit back.
“If you have had high expectations for our team here, then it’s your problem, not ours,” he replied but the comments didn’t go down well.
Neither did a return to Arsenal and he wouldn’t start a single league game in 2012/13, making just seven substitute appearances, the last of which coming in December 2012 before he left on a free transfer the following June.
After exploding onto the scene with that four-goal haul, Arshavin fizzled out at the Emirates and faded away before his quiet exit.
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Arshavin was left on the fringes as his career stalled in north London
He signed again for Zenit and would contribute to their 2014/15 title but by this time was no longer a first-team regular. After two seasons he ventured to another Russian side, Kuban Krasnodar but he lasted just nine appearances before his contract was terminated by mutual consent.
Ultimately he would have a swansong, but it was to be played out in Kazakhstan with Kairat, where in three campaigns he would score 31 goals in 108 appearances before he finally retired in 2018.
Arshavin is a man who tasted the highest highs in football, becoming one of his nation’s greatest players. But he’s also the perfect example of why talent alone won’t keep you at the top.
He sure was smart but laziness saw him fade from view.