Arshavin loses his pace and form. Or did he?

32 Replies to “Arshavin loses his pace and form. Or did he?”

1. finally, someone to stick up for arshavin. i dont see where people’s frustrations against him are coming from? media i suppose. in all fairness, i think people expect him to produce 4-goal wonders (ie against liverpool) on a constant basis. i think he’s had a bit of bad luck and not so much support from fans when he’s not scored. in any case, thanks for this article.

2. This whole talk about Arshavin and his poor form always seems unfair to me. Infact it seems I’m one of the few people who still believe he deserves a place at the club. Now lets be honest, he has lost a little bit of the spark which we witnessed since Zenit’s Uefa Cup winning season till his first few months at the Emirates. But his numbers have always been very good.

   All this talk about him being crap stems due to the fact that he doesn’t do his defensive job well enough. We often see the opposition full back and winger ganging up on Clichy, Song/Wilshere trying to help him out and Arshavin nowhere to be seen. And even after not tracking back regularly for 60-70 mins, he gets subbed for fresher legs. Now if he was as good as Messi/Ronaldo in the final third, no one would criticise him for not tracking back. But he’s not. Which is why the crowd get on his back to do more for the team and why he’s been replaced by Walcott, who’s always willing to help out his full back.

   Now I don’t believe that he doesn’t want to track back, it’s just that his fitness levels don’t allow him to. Infact, I recently read somewhere that he admitted he has gained some weight.

   All he needs to do is have an intense pre-season next time round and improve his fitness so that he can run more and last longer on the field. That should be enough to win the fans back.

3. indeed. not a fan of his slack attitude at times but id be very sad if he left. very miserable indeed

4. The real problem is that Arshavin is being played out of position. His best position is just behind the main striker. That is where he is most lethal. Wenger is playing him on the wing. I believe that Wenger should change the formation if the team is to be effective.

5. Never mind all that, even though i think he has been ok, he is 30 soon and has a year left on his contract. If anyone was to offer around £10-12m, i would take it. If they dont then get him to sign a 1 or 2 year extension. I want Arsenal to play 2 up front next season, if Andrei fancies that then great, if he dont it is time to part ways. If you gave me a choice of Bendtner, Chamakh, Vela, Rosicky or Arshavin, i would still take the little Russian, but if we play 2 up, then he would be behind RVP and Walcott at the moment. If we offered all 5 up we could raise 45-50m for 2 top class forwards and possibly a Winger. Falcao, Hulk and Young or Affelay. In midfield we should trade Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson, Randall for Hazard Inler and Mascherano or Parker. In defence we should trade Eboue, Eastmond, Hoyte, Squillaci and Clichy for Van Der Weil, Jenkinson, Cahill and Vertonghen. Between the sticks trade Almunia, Lehmann and Fabianski for Neuer. Thats it 17 out and 11 in.

6. @ Arsene Wonka

   It seems that nothing looks right for Arsenal right now. Are we third from top or bottom… Can someone tell me again please or post some link

7. Neuer
   (Sczcesney, Mannone)
   Van der Weil/Cahill/Vertonghen/Vermaelen
   (Sagna/Djourou/Koscielny/Gibbs, Jenkinson/Bartley/Miquel/Traore)
   Inler
   (Mascherano, Song)
   Wilshere/Nasri/Hazard
   (Lansbury/Ramsey/Young or Affelay, Watt/Aneke/Botelho)
   Walcott/RVP
   (Hulk/Falcao, JET/Afobe)

8. Arsene Wonka,
   and do you transfers are in order with the 25 squad rules?
   And so you want us to have 6 players less than this season for the whole season. Yeah that sounds right…

9. Alek Pan, great summary and statiscal view on AA.
   It is a bit impressive to read how he has been doing. Even I didn’t realise it. Too busy looking at the refs I think… 😉

10. You are very kind, Walter)))

11. Just took a look at Robert Pires stats during the invincible season he was 0.64 going by Premiership stats

    Henry 1.03

    I changed my mind about AA a few months ago, he can be devastating in some games and why should he have to track back there is other players to do the dirty work, His running ability is very direct and he is one of the few Arsenal players who is direct, he was considered ball greedy at times but with his assists he is entitled to be.

12. Maybe we would see a different Arshivan if he was played off the front man. The main reason why I dislike him is his lack of team ethic… look at Giggs what is he 40 is has never been big enough to do they dirty work when needed.

    Thats football you need to defend and attack when the team needs out not be burned out after playing 60 minutes this guy has no stamina whatsoever. I think we have enough players who arent giving 100% week in week out already.

13. I think that Arshavin is great going forward, runs at players sometimes (wish he did it more often) and creates. the argument that you are making is a good one that most fans won’t have thought about, but for me personally I would still move him on and replace him with someone that works hard for the full 90 as the fluid 4-5-1 system that Arsenal plays doesn’t work and is vulnerable if not all the players work hard to track, put pressure on the opponent all over the pitch and press high up.

    Having said that I think that this is something that Arsenal don’t do very well as a team anyway. I believe that this lack of pressing or tracking back in Arshavin’s game is the reason that his assists and goals get overlooked by the fans and they get frustrated with him which I believe is fair as if he doesn’t assist or score in a game then what is has he done? NOTHING!

    It is this same reason why I believe that Diaby and Denilson should also leave as they don’t seem to care which is shown by their lack of work rate and attitude on the pitch.

    I don’t believe that too much needs to change for Arsenal to win, but my main question I would ask is why are Barcelona, who are the closest to Arsenal in style of play, more successful?

    The answers seem to be simple, Barca’s front 3 of Villa – Messi – Pedro Simply work hard the second the ball is lost to press defenders in groups and win the ball back quickly. This is were the stats show they score most of their goals. They also try to flood the box as often as possible to play quick one-two’s and then pull the ball back across goal for the third man to slot in.

    the 3 centre mids at Barca (Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi) I would argue are very similar to Song, Wilshere and Fabregas. At Arsenal Song and Wilshere start behind Cesc as a two who both go forward regularly with Fabregas in a more atticking mid role and they all rotate whenever they see the others move about.

    Barca have Busquets as an actual defensive mid who sits in between the two centre backs who push out wide effectively creating a back 3 allowing Alves and Maxwell/Adriano to become very attack minded wing backs who flood forward all game to provide width and overlapping runs.

    Xavi is then sitting if not next to Busquets then at least near him a bit further forwards in the quarter back role who dictates play by spraying passes about as well as playing the defence splitting through balls in/over or around defenders. often then breaking into the box at the last second. This is the role I think Cesc should be playing and not the advanced attacking mid role.

    Iniesta is the most attacking positioned of the 3 who looks to pick the ball up in the opponents half and run at players committing them before passing or dribbling around them. Much like Wilshere does and likes to do. Fab and Jack should switch roles as I think it would suit their styles, especially as I think whilst Cesc’s positioning and speed of thought are second to none his speed of movement ruins it for him. Jack is quicker with or without the ball and suits this role better.

    Finally something else that you notice about Barca players is that they rarely receive the ball in the opponents half and then turn with it unless they are out wide, if they are positioned in the middle they will just play the ball back out and look to turn and run in behind the players who follow them thus dragging players out of position and creating that little bit of space in behind needed for another play to play in when they get the ball back again around the edge of the box.

    Sorry it was so long but I think this explains why Arsenal need hard working players who ok MIGHT NOT be so high in assists etc as Arshavin, but will benefit the team more through their work rate
    What do you all think???

14. @hal
    This article is not about issue – Arshavin is bad or not. This article is about he loses his pace and form or not.

    “the fluid 4-5-1 system that Arsenal plays doesn’t work and is vulnerable”

    I think that the system that Arsenal plays is getting better.
    Defense department is getting better. This season there were some flops but overall it’s getting better. And Arshavin is getting better in work ethic – he tracking more; and produce more assists and goals per game: this season – 0.70, previous season – 0.52.

    “my main question I would ask is why are Barcelona, who are the closest to Arsenal in style of play, more successful?”

    My main question I would ask is how much games Barcelona can win without help from big impact from referee decisions? http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/912691/barcelona-consider-mourinho-complaint?cc=5739

15. Your meticulous research is very much appreciated, Alek Pan. But unfortunately, stats alone do not tell the complete story…Barca complete almost 600 passes every match and have minimum 65% possession;look at their passes-Busquets to Xavi, Xavi to Iniesta and Iniesta to Busquets, who in the interval has moved about two inches.This is, as Arsene put it, ‘sterile’ possession.
    So for all of Andrey’s stats, it is indubitable that he had some issues, mostly low confidence as once admitted Andrey himself and Arsene. Also, when Theo and Samir are both available, Andrey has been relegated to the bench. There are rumours going around Andrey is over-weight. I do not know about that, so whether he lost pace or not, he did lose his form.
    For all his ‘laziness’ and lack of defending, credit to him that he has tracked back in the last few matches, even making some vital tackles. At the same time, it is also not a coincidence that the once PFA left back of the year has come in for a lot of criticism. Is it due to the change in formation or personnel or lose in form for Clichy, only one man can answer.

16. Question, do the majority feel that the system we play is wrong ?
    Do we play this system because of financial restrictions eg Andy Carroll 35mill it would be cheaper to buy midfielders and play one up front ?
    It seems a lot of people feel we play so many players out of position AA being one of those.
    So are we happy with the squad…. just curious.

17. @Naren
    “when Theo and Samir are both available, Andrey has been relegated to the bench.”

    This is rotation but not relegation to the bench. Does Andrei need some rest or not?

    “So for all of Andrey’s stats, it is indubitable that he had some issues, mostly low confidence as once admitted Andrey himself and Arsene.”

    Player with low confidence makes 0.90 goals and assists per match)))
    This is miracle!!!!!

18. @hal
    Arsenal plays a 4-2-3-1, which is a little bit different from 4-5-1 in the way the team defends after losing the ball.
    Regarding your suggestion that Cesc should be playing deeper and Jack higher up, this season onwards Arsenal have a fluid midfield in the sense that anybody can make a run into the box from midfield and that player will be covered. So yo can see Cesc moving to the holding position should Alex and/or jack cpme forward, though its pretty rare. As Arsene once said about Jack that a midfielder should not be a defensive or attacking midfielder;a midfielder should defends when the team loses the ball and attack once the team has the ball.
    Barcelona have been hyped-up too much,imho.Yesterday,when Real defended deep, Barca were getting frustrated and were playing long-balls and shooting from distance.Mourinho later said that Barca would not have scored even if the game went on for another 3 hours.So much for being the greatest team in the history.
    So to answer your question, why is Barca more successful?Messi is the answer. Yes, Barca have great players, have an excellent pressing system(that includes pressing the ref), there are numerous times when Barca are the ‘same’ ‘one-dimensional”no Plan-B’ team that Arsenal is accused of being. Then out of nowhere, out of nothing, Messi scores or assists or assists himself to a goal. The closest thing to Messi that we have is Robin.
    Arsenal’s game, as we saw during the two-month period is good enough to win almost every match. But come times when nothing you do seems good, a real genius of a player is needed.
    With due respect to Robin, can he do what Messi can?Probably…Does he do what Messi does?No. 20 goals from 20 or so matches is incredible.52 goals from 50 matches is ineffable. There are lot of differences between Robin and Messi, their roles in their teams, their partners and their roles but in those trying times, you need a player to rise above everything else. That is what Arsenal do not have at present. Or for that matter nobody except Barca have.

19. Any discussion of AA is incomplete without looking at number of fouls against him not given. Since the World Cup announcement anyone can ride roughshod over him at any time. This must have a major impact on his effectiveness.

20. Arsenal is so predictable without Theo Walcott and Arshavin.

21. @Cape Gooner
    Lazy Berbatov is pretty effective in MU.
    May be it is just because referees love him more than they love Arshavin?)))

22. @Alek Pan
    You seem to be an absolute die-hard supporter of Andrey…Well, I reviewed the games Arsenal played since March…
    Sub(on)-time at which player entered the field
    Sub(off)-time at which player left the field
    Started-started the match and completed 90 mins

    Date Competition Opposition Appearance
    March 2 FA Cup Leyton Orient No
    March 5 Premier League Sunderland Started
    March 8 Champions League FC Barcelona Sub(on)73mins
    March 12 FA Cup Man Utd Sub(off)72mins
    March 19 Premier League WBA Started
    March 26 International Armenia Started
    March 29 International Qatar Started
    April 2 Premier League Blackburn Sub(off)58mins
    April 10 Premier League Blackpool Sub(off)60mins
    April 17 Premier League Liverpool Sub(on)74mins
    April 20 Premier League T Hotspurs Sub(on)80mins
    April 24 Premier League Bolton Sub(on)72mins

    Alek Pan, I assume rotation is done to rest tired player/s. If that be true, then Andrey has been relegated to the bench and not rotated. How much has he played to be rested?You can argue that after playing the two internationals and the travelling, he was tired and subbed in the Blackburn match. After a week’s rest(preparation), he plays 60 mins against Blackpool before coming off.Suppose he is still tired, he has one more week to recuperate and as per your notion of rotation, he was rested for the Liverpool match and brought on late to change the match. Now I would expect him to be fresh. Yet he is again on the bench for the Derby coming on only at the 80th min.Now, the excuse for rotation is up but come Bolton, he is still on the bench. Is he still tired, still being rested? As much I support resting to avoid burnout and maintain peak fitness, resting a player or the rotation lasts one game, at the max. two. To give an example, Jack was rested for the Derby and rotated, not relegated to the bench.
    Unless you believe Andrey needs a winter break at the business end of the season, I cannot see how he has been rested.
    PS-The period in March where he is very involved coincides with Walcott being injured.
    As for his lack of form, here are two links if you care:
    http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arshavin-criticism-dented-my-confidence
    http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-no-one-is-immune-to-a-loss-of-confidence
    PPS-There are players who have played more number of matches than Arshavin but never have been rotated like Sagna, Clichy, Song and Koscielny until injury or lack of fitness forced the issue.Do not these players need rest?

23. @Naren
    Do you really think that one or two weeks is enough for the rest in the end of the season?
    Tiredness is accumulated.
    Arshavin did play more games this season than any attacking player of Arsenal (Nasri excluded). Plus – Arshavin most elder attacking player of Arsenal. Plus – he did play half of the season without rotation 2 games a week. Therefore he need much more time for rest than other attacking players in the end of the season.
    Do you remember “Wilshere needs rest” issue? http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_6873255,00.html

    Wenger:
    “England have a friendly in August, if the U21s go to the end of the tournament, I will have to give the player four to six weeks’ holiday. That means he might not be available for the friendly, nor for the qualifier because he will not be ready and that game is in September.”

    Sorry for my poor English)))

24. Yeah…this seems quite good…and finally i have found one AFC supporter who sticks with arshavin….nice piece of work…only if people coming at the emirates read this.

25. Arshavin is a high-risk, high impact player. He’s also someone who was used, before coming to Arsenal, to have teams built around him. I suspect it has been a bit frustrating for him not having that as the case at Arsenal.

    You don’t play Arshavin if you’re looking to contain in midfield. There are other players better than him at that.

    You do play him if you want explosive goals, explosive pieces of action which assist others to score and you do play him to break down defences.

    What’s written about Arshavin reminds me of the ‘Hoddle can’t tackle’ bullshit of the 1980s.

    The only question I have is whether he and others at the club can integrate their talents together more effectively.

26. Alek,
    The question for you then is this: why has Wenger continued to start Walcott or Nasri ahead of Arshavin? Particularly why ahead of Nasri who has not scored more than once (against Spurs) since January? If you are making a defense of Arshavin that shows how good he has been, there is a genuine question about why he has received such limited minutes. It can no longer be about rest, as it might have been in December.

    You also probably have to look at goals against Arsenal and from where they come. If we give up more and find that the attacking moves come from the left side, then you might have an answer that exonerates Wenger. As it stands, you are making an implicit judgment against his continuing decision to start others ahead of Arshavin. It isn’t just a defense of Arshavin you have accomplished here.

27. @Alek Pan
    I never said that, Alek. I am saying that you need rest at the end of the season, not when the season is about to end.There is a lot of difference between the two. The season is still on…there are four matches still remaining-you cannot ask for rest at this time.Moreover, every player has equal duration of holidays, unless involved in some competitions.Why should Andrey be given more time than the others to rest and recuperate?Honestly, Andrey did not even go the World Cup. He had a long holiday back in the summer and a proper pre-season. If he is so tired that he has to be rested in April, there is some serious issue with his fitness levels.
    Which country are you from?

    @hal
    For all the talk about Barca’s pressing, it is really a mammoth task for Arsenal to implement it.We all saw that Barca get tired around the 60th min mark, especially against us. The La Liga is relatively slower and less physical than the Premier League and we will find it almost impossible to maintain that robustness in pressing throughout the season in the Premier league.

28. @Naren
    “I am saying that you need rest at the end of the season, not when the season is about to end. There is a lot of difference between the two. The season is still on…there are four matches still remaining”

    “Why should Andrey be given more time than the others to rest and recuperate?”

    If you do think that 4 matches is a lot of difference then how do you call 12 matches? May be do you call this – Super Mega Difference? Let me show you these 12 matches.

    Andrei Arshavin – 35 games started, 15 used as substitute.
    Theo Walcott – 23 games started, 13 used as substitute.
    Andrei did play this season 12 games more than Theo. This is 50% more. Do you feel that tiredness of Andrei is equal tiredness of Theo? Do you think that Andrei was given more time than Theo to rest and recuperate? The fact is that Andrei was given this season LESS time than the other attaking players (Nasri excluded) to rest and recuperate.

    “Honestly, Andrey did not even go the World Cup. He had a long holiday back in the summer and a proper pre-season.”

    Can you tell me who did play on the World Cup? Theo? Cesc? Samir? Maruan?

    “Which country are you from?”
    I am from Russia.

29. @Alek Pan
    That ‘k’ in Alek had me thinking you were Russian…I asked because of your apology for the poor English.
    I repeat, now with confirmation, that you are a die-hard fan of Andrey so probably that’s why you are taking this so seriously.
    I very deeply feel that you are misunderstanding me. Your posts and mine are not coherent.
    Look, I said he was demoted to the bench, you disagreed and called that rotation. Then I showed you stats that prove he has been rested too long to have been only rested. Now you tell me that Andrey has been rested less. But as I said,stats don’t tell the entire story.Andrey was a squad player the day Theo replaced him in the line-up against Chelsea in December. You would rest the big players so that they can be fresh for the big games.Seems Arsene is resting Andrey in the big games. Barca home and away, Andrey didn’t start. If you love Andrey and will stand up for him no matter what, I really cannot help it;though it is good to see that.
    I do not see this ending…I think we can respectfully agree to disagree.I really do not want to argue over an inconsequential matter.

30. @ Naren
    If Arshavin did play this season more games than any attacking players there is tiny room for speculations about bench relegations)))
    You showed me stats for 2 weeks. May be for this two weeks you are right. May be not. This two weeks do not overthrew the fact that Arshavin did play this season more games than other attacking players (Nasri excluded).
    I do not quite understand talks about big games and small games. Every team in EPL is danger.

31. @ Limestonegunner
    I think that there is need to investigate this matter some more.
    May be the last two weeks is the new period of low confidence)))

    “You also probably have to look at goals against Arsenal and from where they come.”

    I’ll try to find stats for this issue)))

32. Cape Gooner, you are absolutely right.
    I have noticed in my match reviews that the most used words are in some games: “foul on Arshavin not given”.

    When Arshaving is involved for example Mike Dean only gives a foul when the leg is hanging off and then he will give a foul against Arhavin and book him for diving. Phil Dowd is the same.

    I have even mentioned this in a few match reviews. When Dean or Dowd is the ref you can better put Arshavin not on the field as he will be kicked to pieces by the opposition and no fouls will be given.