The difference was incredible. The difference between Arshavin and the other 21 players was quite incredible.
But you had to be there.You had to be in the stadium to really see it.
Truly, Arshavin was different class. Five foot five and stocky, he has a razor-sharp touch in both feet, and his vision puts him on another level. He was fantastic. It was a real thrill to see his debut. Andrej Arshavin was even better than I thought he would be.
He hasn’t played since November but he lit up a dreary 0-0 draw against Sunderland. Trouble was, his pinpoint passes were sometimes too good for the other players. They couldn\’t read him because they\’ve played for too long in a predictable passing pattern.They\’re not used to being around a player of that quality.
I never doubted Arsenal should sign Arshavin because it\’s very rare that a player as gifted as him comes on the market. If he\’s available, and wants to join your club, you sign him. Although Paul Walsh said on Soccer Saturday that he thought Wenger had been “railroaded†into the deal. I hope not. We\’ve been begging the manager to sign a 27-year old player. We\’ve been begging him to sign 27-year old players for the last four years !
The day started well with a sunlit Saturday stroll through Highbury Fields with my son Michael, down Drayton Park, where his pal Jay lives, meeting my friend outside Arsenal tube station, with his mate Adam and Adam’s young son Billy, four of strolling round to see a game we expected to be a home win. We were all in a good mood and really looking forward to the game.
When the Arsenal players gathered in a circle to embrace each other and signal their brotherly love, it looked pathetic and we joked about it.
“Thierry\’s last hug with Theo lasted two minutes!”
“I know, I was shouting, ‘Get a room!’ “
Silly stuff like that.
Arshavin shone like a diamond immediately. When Andy Reid passed to him near the centre circle, he cruised forward and fired a fierce shot a yard past the base of the post. He zipped in from the right and fired a shot which Fulop parried away for a corner. Another shot was hasty and wide. A cross was almost perfect, just behind Bendtner, who got in decent header which was saved .
Without scoring, no new player could have had a better February start than Arshavin was having here. Cutting back a ball to Bendtner, he found the striker had switched off, turned his back, not expecting the ball to come. Sagna read Arshavin\’s probing pass down the line a fraction too late but almost got there in time.( Zenit feed their overlapping fullbacks, that\’s a big part of their style.)
Early on, Denilson’s best pass split the Sunderland defence but Robin van Persie floated his shot two feet past the post. If he scores, it’s a different game.
First half, RVP was taking seven touches when Arshavin was taking two. We were saying , “Look at van Persie, why is he so bad today? ” “He looks as if he\’s had his nose put out of joint !” ” Suddenly, there’s a new player who can do things he can\’t do.” ” It’s like Henry when Reyes came, and took up positions he liked to take up, so he had the hump.”
Almunia and Gallas played well. And Bendtner showed that he can play with Arshavin
Vela replaced Arshavin and when Nasri’s cross beat the jumpers and fell to Vela, he mishit his shot two yards wide. Two minutes later, RVP gave Vela a nice pass but Vela swung wildly at the ball and his the shot went nearer the goal than the corner flag . But not much nearer.
As a punter, I’m pretty cool. I’ve lowered my expectations, and lowered them again, so I don’t expect much. So I don’t get agitated, don’t scream and shout. But Vela’s late, ridiculously wild shot frustrated me and I shouted, “Concentrate, you idiot ! Where\’s your bottle? You do this for a living !â€
My friend held his head in his hands and said, “What does Wenger see in this team?”
Let’s get this 100% straight once and for all, so I don’t have to mention it ever again. It’s boring so I’m only going to say this once more : Alex Song is a seriously inept footballer and Denilson is a bang average squad player. With Petit and Vieira, Arsenal would have won this game. With Grimandi and Edu they would have won. With Paul Davis and Ray Parlour, ditto.
Two duff central midfielders will always expose your centrebacks too much, restrict full backs, starve your strikers, and reduce the potential of your wide players. That\’s obvious. It\’s a fact, not an opinion. These clowns can\’t win the ball in the right areas, they never intercept to launch breaks, or generate momentum, and when they have the ball they pass it sideways, partly because nobody is making a run.
Arsenal fans hate to hear Wenger say, “Eboue and Song don\’t get the credit they deserve.†They really hate that. They think he\’s lost the plot. A big percentage now think Wenger has lost the plot and will NOT turn it round. Does he think fans know nothing? Does he think 60,000 people are morons ?
The way Arsenal play is one-paced and one-dimensional and dull. It was exciting last season when Flamini made the team 30% faster. But nowadays they rarely mix it up, so they are numbingly predictable. This midfield cannot win games. This midfield is seriously inept. This midfield did not dominate the West Ham midfield or the Sunderland midfield. Is there any of the 19 midfields in the PL that Denilson and Song could dominate? No! Not one.
In injury time, Gallas hit a Route 1 ball, Bendtner flicked it on, RVP shot straight at Fulop. We heard a roar. We were outside the stadium by then.
I got home at 6.15pm and Gooner Kelvin had called and left a message with Jan : We\’ve had enough!
My brother Paddy phoned. He said a third of the crowd had left by the final whistle, according to a radio commentator.
On Saturday night, in the wonderfully modern interactive world we now enjoy, Gooners were ringing up Ray Parlour on You\’re On Sky Sports and saying, “We think we\’re being shafted : season ticket prices, merchandise, food and drink, five quid for a hot dog – we think we\’re being shafted.â€
What\’s the bottom line on the Sunderland game?
Simple. On this evidence, Arshavin is heading for the Uefa Cup again. After this drab, dreary game he must have gone home on Saturday night and thought : What have I done?
Still, I\’ll remember the little Russian\’s debut. I\’ll remember thinking : he thinks too quick for these dimwits !
Andrej Arshavin is the jewel in the crown. But right now the crown is made of cardboard.
So the $64,000 question is : How quickly can Arsenal improve to profit from Arshavin\’s creativity?
Let me correct the above sentence : 5th place would cost Arsenal £40 million.
So it’s a £40 million question. The £40 million question is : How quickly can Arsenal improve to profit from Arshavin\’s creativity?