Russian ace Andrei Arshavin's arrival at the Emirates has inspired me to begin my blogging tenure. Yes, I know, blogging was created by Neanderthal so it's about time I begin posting.
It was the summer of 2008 during the European championships when my crush with Arshavin set in. After he masterminded Russia's victory over Holland -- a team seemingly untouchable -- Arsene's eyes were beaming. Unfortunately nothing cemented over the summer window and the Gunners would have to settle with Marseille's, dare I say, emerging "Zidane" Samir Nasri.
After Zenit St. Petersburg's euphoric UEFA Cup title, Arshavin stayed loyal to his hometown club as they took on Europe in the Champions League. After falling out in a group containing Italian giants Juventus, Belarusian side BATE Borisov, and oh yeah, Real Madrid, Zenit could only claim five points after the group stages. The five points have merited a chance to defend their UEFA cup spot, however Arshavin's ambitions proved too big for a club destined for mediocrity.
Although he will be ineligible for any Champions League matches for the remainder of the 2008-09 season, his presence in the FA Cup and the Premiership will bolster Arsenal's trophy aspirations.
Supporters across the expansive world that is Arsenal blogs are voicing their disgust with Arshavin's transfer saga. "He better be worth the trouble" and "17 mil. quid...really?" are the cries emanating from the stands. I have an answer to both of those questions: "He will be" and "yes, really". Arshavin, as Wenger expressed, will help us in the final third. Adebayor needs to find his finishing boots right away because there are balls to be played to his feet perfectly via Andrei.
I'm brought to pure ecstasy when I think about the returns of Eduardo, Rosicky, Walcott, and Mr. Fabulous. It's the defensive side of things that makes me sigh. It's the last piece of the puzzle, the nail in the coffin.
But for now we are to applaud the Arsenal staff and board for their resilience during this time. He is here and you did it. Number twenty-three of the red and white will surely add to the squad experience, class, and flare.
The North London derby kicks off on Sunday afternoon with the return of Robbie Keane and the pending debut of Andrei Arshavin. This week will be oh so slow...
the correct term would be "man crush" and i think you owe me at least 3 quid for that correction
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that you said "Russian ace Andrei Arshavin's arrival at the Emirates has inspired me to begin my blogging tenure." Because - I clearly inspired Tim to begin blogging, thus, I indirectly inspired you...
ReplyDeletehaha.
Yep. That's about it.
Hayes, I would have been your first comment on your blog had my first comment actually posted! I'll be keeping up with this blog, so update it often.
ReplyDeletePaul
The week up until the official announcement i was literally refreshing arsenalnews.net 20 or more times a day to check and see if it had gone through yet.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely got a crush on Arshavin at the same time. His skill in creating opportunities at the Euros were unbelievable. With Cesc out, getting Arshavin was not an option. We've been missing those play making abilities sorely since Cesc got injured.
Additionally what i was impressed by at the Euros was his defensive mindset. He didn't hesitate to run the length of the field if the situation required it. A lot of his critics who say that he gets tired to quickly forget how hard he can work.
I too am very hopeful in Andrey. I mean, come on! He said, "[Roman] is no friend of mine." He already knows he can't be friends the Scum!