Personal

Full name:	Andrei Sergeyevich Arshavin
Birth Date:	29th May, 1981
Place of Birth:	Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia
Height:	1.72 metres, 5′ 8
Weight:	62 kg
Nickname:	Shava
Partner:	Yulia
Kids:	Artem (son), daughter

Professional

Position:

Attacking midfielder, forward, winger

Club

Arsenal

Joined On:	February 3, 2009
First Game:	February 21, 2009
Jersey No:	23
Appearances:	20
Goals Scored:	8

Zenit St. Petersburg

Joined In:	1999
First Game:	June, 2000
Jersey No:	10
Appearances:	312
Goals Scored:	71

Russia

First Game:	May 17, 2002
Jersey No:	10
Appearances:	43
Goals Scored:	15

Awards

- 2001: Russian Championship bronze prizewinner
- 2003: vice-champion of Russia
- 2003: Premier-League Cup holder
- 2006: Best player of Russia award and Russian National Squad leader award
- 2007: Champion of Russia
- 2008: Possessor of the Super Cup of Russia
- 2008: Possessor UEFA Cup 2007/2008

Biography

He started to play football at the tender age of seven. Arshavin became a graduate of the well-known Smyena football academy in St. Petersburg. In 1999 he joined Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club and debuted in June, 2000 for the second division Zenit club, Zenit 2. They won 3–0 over English side Bradford City in the Intertoto Cup. He has played in numerous positions on the field, as a right midfielder, an attacking midfielder and finally adopted the second striker’s role playing on the flank or behind a target man. Arshavin has high speed combined with outstanding dribbling and fine vision of the playing field and has been recognised for his ability to avoid any opposition player with the ball within a limited space, to make a sharp, decisive pass or to finish an attacking move with a well-placed strike.

Arshavin debuted for the Russian national team on May 17, 2002 in a match against Belarus. His first goal with the squad came in a 4-2 friendly match win against Romania on 13 February 2003 and since then has managed to score in every competition in which Russia has participated. Despite being overlooked for the national team at the 2004 European Championships held in Portugal, Arshavin was named ‘Best Second Striker’ in the Russian Premier League by the sports newspaper “Sport-Express”, and voted as the country’s best player by readers of newspaper “Soviet Sport”.

In 2005 Arshavin rejoined the Russian national squad coached by Jury Semin; Semin was replaced in 2006 by Dutch manager Guus Hiddink. That year, Zenit St. Petersburg finished 4th in the domestic league, however, Arshavin received the accolade of “Best Footballer” from the leading, authoritative sports publications in Russia – the weekly “Football” and the newspapers “Sport-Express” and “Soviet Sport”.

In 2007, Arshavin was made captain of Zenit F.C and also of the Russian national team. That season Arshavin guided Zenit F.C. to the title, starting in all 30 matches — scoring 10 goals and providing 11 assists along the way. It was the club’s first league title since claiming the now defunct Soviet Top League in 1984. He was a key player during Zenit’s 2008 UEFA Cup triumph in May of that year over Glasgow Rangers and was named Man of the Match in the final 2-0 result.

Arshavin was included in Russia’s Euro 2008 squad, despite being unable to play in the first two group matches due to suspension. He announced his return by setting up the first goal and scoring the second in Russia’s final group game against Sweden, which helped his team qualify for the next round.

In the next match, the quarter-final against the Netherlands, Arshavin repeated the feat with his part in Russia’s two goals in the second half of extra time, providing the cross for Dmitri Torbinski’s goal and scoring his own four minutes later. Russia consequently reached the semi-finals with a 3–1 victory. For both of these games, UEFA awarded him Man of the Match. Arshavin could not repeat the heroics in the semi-final against eventual winners Spain, which Russia lost 3–0. Despite this, Arshavin was named in UEFA’s squad for Euro 2008. On July 4th, 2008, the captain of the national side was awarded the “For Honor and Courage” Order from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Arshavin’s performances in the UEFA Cup and European Championship brought him to the attention of several European clubs. In June 2008 FC Barcelona made a €15m offer for him which was turned down by Zenit. English Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur’s £16m offer in August, also fell short of matching Zenit’s £22m asking price. Zenit’s unwillingness to release the player for anything less than the initial asking price, caused discontent from both Arshavin, who said the 2008 season was definitely going to be his last with Zenit, and his agent Dennis Lachter who described the club’s transfer policy as “barbaric”.

In October 2008, Arshavin was nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award (European Footballer of the Year award), along with 29 others including compatriot Yuri Zhirkov. In the end, the award was won by Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United.

During the January 2009 transfer window Arshavin was being pursued by English Premier League side Arsenal F.C. On 2 February, at around 10am, he was rumored to be heading back to Russia, but with less than an hour of the transfer window left a bid from Arsenal was accepted by Zenit. By this point he had agreed personal terms and passed a medical, but a payoff sum by Arshavin himself to Zenit was supposedly holding up the deal.

Arshavin is also known for his active public service. At the beginning of 2007, he was included in the list of three party candidates from “United Russia” ahead of elections for the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly; he would later refuse the deputy mandate. Arshavin has several advertising and endorsement deals with major companies, including Russian mobile phone service provider “Beeline”. He also takes part in philathropic work for several charitable organizations, and has offered financial support to the Smyena football academy.

Videos

Professional

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Personal

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Interesting Facts

1) As a boy, he fell in love with the Barcelona team coached by Holland legend Johan Cruyff and had previously said moving to the Nou Camp would be his dream. But now he says he will probably be at the Emirates till the end of his career.

2) While at university he wrote a thesis on sportswear production, but dismissed his decision to study for a diploma in fashion design as an opportunity to meet girls.

3) Arshavin once stood for local elections in St Petersburg for the United Russia party led by Vladimir Putin (right) but withdrew his candidacy before a vote was cast.
4) The Communists of Leningrad group accused Arshavin of being a ‘traitor’ for his desire to leave the country. Berating him for ‘putting up his body for sale for greedy Western clubs’, they warned: ‘If you want to sign for any Western team you will lose your spiritual connection to Mother Russia and Russians will never forgive you.’

Sources
wikipedia.org
arsenal.com
dailymail.co.uk
arshavin.eu