Arshavin really is a very special talent

Andrey Arshavin
Andrey Arshavin was born on 29 May 1981 in Leningrad.

He started playing football at the age of 7. Andrey is a Smena football school graduate (coaches V. Vinogradov and S. Gordeev).

In 1999-2000 Andrey played for FC Zenit reserve team. He made his debut for the first squad in the Intertoto Cup away game against Bradford, which FC Zenit won 3:0. In his first game in the starting eleven Andrey justified the hopes of the head coach of that time Yuiy Morozov.

Andrey started as a right midfielder, his duet with Aleksandr Kerzhakov became well known in Russian Championship, especially in seasons 2001, 2003 as FC Zenit won medals.

He says that his hobby is creating goals for the team and it doesn’t matter whether he scores himself or assists someone.

It was Petrjela who decided that Arshavin should play at the edge of the attack in the middle of 2003, and Andrey scored two goals in his debut match as a forward against FC Uralan. This new role seemed to inspire Andrey and up to now Arshavin managed to score 58 goals (he celebrated his first goal in the match against Fakel (Voronezh) and his 50th goal in the home match against Luch-Energia).

Moreover, his goals in the very end of the UEFA Cup away game against FC AEK and FC Olympique de Marseille gave FC Zenit one of the most exciting events in the Club’s history – UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

Capped for the Russian youth team, where his partner was Aleksandr Anukov, who is also in the first squad now, Andrey made his debut in the national squad in May 2002 against Belarus.

Having scored 9 goals for the international team, Andrey set up a new club record of goals for the national team. Besides, he became FC Zenit best striker in Russian championships 2005, 2006.

Every year Andrey is on top of the 33-best Russian footballers list: he became number 1 in 2005 and 2006, and number 2 in 2001, 2002, 2004.

2005 Andrey became the first football player in Russia to be elected FIFA-Kinderdorf Ambassador.

Arshavin, 27, who played a key part in Zenit’s UEFA Cup winning campaign last season, was also a member of the Russian EURO 2008 squad in which he scored two goals from his three appearances, earning him a place in the ‘Team of the Tournament’.

Arshavin won the Russian Premier League with Zenit in 2007, making a total of 232 appearances for his previous club, scoring 51 goals. During his time with Zenit, he was also part of the winning team that picked up the Russian Super Cup in 2008, the Russian Premier League Cup in 2003 and featured in the UEFA Super Cup victory over Manchester United in Monaco last August.

With 41 international caps for Russia, Arshavin has scored a total of 15 goals for his country. His versatility has allowed him to play in a variety of positions; the 2006 Russian Footballer of the Year started his career as a right midfielder, but has since played as an attacking midfielder and more recently has filled the ‘second striker’s’ role.

Next interview in Russian:

arshavin.eu: Андрей, самое долгожданное интервью. Да или нет?
А.А.: Свершилось. Все формальности улажены. Мой переход в ФК «Арсенал» официально состоялся.

arshavin.eu: Чем началось утро в заснеженном Альбионе? А.А.: Пока завершались юридические процедуры, я провел первую тренировку, продолжительностью один час пятнадцать минут. Начали мы в тренажерном зале, продолжили на поле. Впечатление от общения с партнерами по команде позитивное. В меня верят.
arshavin.eu: Где узнали об окончательном решении? А.А.: В офисе моего нового клуба.
arshavin.eu: Мы рады за Вас. Ваша мечта играть в европейском клубе - сбылась. Вашу радость, с некоторым оттенком грусти, разделяют многие российские болельщики. А.А.: Спасибо всем болельщикам «Зенита», которые меня поддерживали в разные времена, на протяжении всей моей карьеры в родном городе и клубе. Спасибо тем, кто верил в меня, как в человека и в футболиста. Сейчас, покидая «Зенит», хочу сказать, что я всегда старался быть честным перед своими болельщиками и своим городом. Я не прощаюсь с Питером, я говорю: «До свидания». Ведь я здесь родился, здесь родились мои дети.
P.S. А.А: «Now I am a Gunner!»

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