Andrey Arshavin

Andrey Arshavin was born on May 29, 1981, in Leningrad, USSR. He began playing football at the age of 7 at the Smena school. He then joined the prestigious Zenit Saint Petersburg reserve team, where he made a name for himself in the Russian second division. He was named to the first team during the 2000 Intertoto Cup. He unfortunately lost the final 4-3 on aggregate.

After several excellent seasons, it was the 2004/05 season that finally saw the player's breakthrough. He played 41 matches in all competitions, scoring 15 goals and providing 11 assists at the age of 24. Becoming his team's best player, the following season he was voted Russian Footballer of the Year in 2006 after a fine season, scoring 44 matches, scoring 12 goals, and providing 12 assists. He was already enjoying a successful Europa League campaign.

But the craziest and most successful of his seasons will remain the 2007/08 season, a legendary season for both him and his club. He played 44 matches, scored 12 goals, and provided 17 assists for his club. He won the Europa League, where he provided one assist. His campaign in the competition was exceptional: 14 goals, four goals, and five assists. He also won the Russian Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup against Manchester United. But it was his performance at Euro 2008 that would truly stand out. Three matches played: two goals, one assist. And his match against the Netherlands was a masterclass: 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 successful dribbles, 5 key passes, 10 duels won, 6 fouls won, and 3 interceptions.

Combining creativity, explosiveness, and fighting spirit, he was at that moment one of the best wingers in the world without question. An elegant and fast winger. Brilliant with the Russian national team and Zenit, it didn't take much for Arsène Wenger's Gunners to sign the player who would go on to finish 6th in the 2008 Ballon d'Or.

In the first half of his season, he had already produced a masterclass against Real Madrid in a 2-1 defeat with Zenit, the player had done everything in vain: 1 assist, 8 key passes, 6 successful dribbles, 11 duels won, 2 fouls won and 1 interception. Playing the second half of the 2008/09 season with Arsenal, the Russian winger continued his winning ways and impressed English fans: 15 matches, 6 goals, and 10 assists, he was unstoppable. The player produced two masterclasses at the end of the season, the first against Blackburn with 1 goal and 2 assists, and the second, which will forever be remembered as one of the greatest performances by a player in a single match, against Liverpool: scoring 4 goals. For each Liverpool goal, Arshavin responded with a goal, the final score 4-4 in one of the craziest matches in Premier League history.Continuing to be decisive, Arshavin finished 2009 in 21st place in the Ballon d'Or.

For the 2009/10 season, the winger put on another masterclass, notably against AZ Alkmaar and FC Porto. The former recorded 75 minutes played, 3 assists, 5 key passes, 5 duels won, and 1 interception. The latter recorded 2 assists, 4 key passes, 3 dribbles completed, 7 duels won, 2 fouls won, and 1 interception. However, the player seemed increasingly inconsistent despite this.

The 2011/12 season would be his last truly great season. At 30, the Russian winger had a statistically incredible season: 62 matches played, 13 goals, and 22 assists, combining his appearances for Arsenal and those for Zenit during a short loan spell. He then secured the league title for Zenit. But the craziest thing about this season is that he was a substitute, a luxury joker!

If you count his total minutes, a total of 3,821, that's actually a total of about 42 matches played! But the even better thing is that he's back in Russia for Euro 2012, where he's been dazzling! Two more masterclasses in the competition, against the Czech Republic and Poland. Against the Czech Republic, he put on a magician's performance: 2 assists, 7 key passes, 86% pass completion, and 3 dribbles completed. Then against Poland, the same thing: 1 assist, 5 dribbles completed, 5 key passes, 10 duels won, 1 foul won, and 2 interceptions. And finally, he had a pretty good match against Greece. He is one of the best players in the history of the Euro and he is undoubtedly one of the best players in the history of the Russian national team with whom he played 76 matches for 17 goals and 20 assists between 2002 and 2012.

Aging, losing playing time, and becoming less decisive, the player left Arsenal in 2013 and returned once again to Russia, to Zenit St. Petersburg. But this time, his contribution was significantly less significant; he struggled to play as well as before, and he gradually lost his form.

He spent a brief stint at Kuban Krasnodar before joining Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan, where he retired in 2019. He was 38 years old at the time and had just had some rather good seasons, scoring more than 10 goals and 10 assists in this less elite league.

- 6th in the 2008 Ballon d'Or

- 21st in the 2009 Ballon d'Or

- Voted Russian Footballer of the Year in 2006

- Member of the Euro 2008 All-Star Team

Homepage