da wazamba：
da imperador bet： “Even playing just one season for Barcelona would make a pinnacle of my whole career.”
It doesn’t take a genius to work out which player on Arsenal’s petite payroll has come out with this statement. Speaking to Sport-Express newspaper, Andrei Arshavin has again re-iterated his desire to play for the Blaugrana.
The diminutive playmaker is no stranger to outbursts in the press; since his arrival at the Emirates from Zenit St. Petersburg in January 2009, the Russian has complained about the high tax rate here, his disliking of England, Arsenal’s tactics and the club’s inability to recruit players. Phew. In fact, the only thing he hasn’t moaned about has been the weather (then again, it’s got to be an improvement on St. Petersburg, eh?).
In addition to voicing his wish to join the Catalonian giants, Arshavin has omitted club manager Arsène Wenger from his list of the world’s top three coaches.
“I think there are three coaches who are the best in the world – (England manager) Fabio Capello, Jose Mourinho and (former Russia manager) Guus Hiddink. If I would pick a coach for the Russian national team, I’d want one of them to be our boss. (Arsenal manager) Arsène Wenger is also a good coach but not for Russia.” Does this constitute a little pop at Le Professor?
Arshavin’s comments are unlikely to go down well with the Emirates’ faithful. With Arshavin struggling to reach the heights he scaled during the first six months of his Arsenal career, many believe that the Russian should concentrate on his efforts on trying to rectify his indifferent form, which has provoked criticisms that he is a lazy player. His comments about Wenger, in tandem with previous statements about his team-mates, are unlikely to promote team morale and harmony, and there is a slim chance that they will have a damaging effect upon the squad.
Arshavin, a supremely talented individual, has captured the hearts and minds of Gunners’ fans in no time since he joined the club last year. The club have taken to him and shown him the warmth and affection that was never afforded to players who were arguably more successful at the club (such as Emmanuel Adebayor). Constantly repeating your admiration of another club by way of thinly veiled come-and-get-me-pleas are a disgraceful way of showing one’s appreciation and commitment to the club who gave him his big break in top-level European football. Especially when your form has been a bit mediocre to say the least.
In a season where Arsenal have really needed their more experienced pros to stand up and be counted, it’s a real shame that Arshavin seems to have done most of his talking off the pitch.
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