Arshavin to join + late Arsenal v Cardiff thoughts

It’s a three-part blog today with an update on Andrei Arshavin, some thoughts on the 0-0 FA Cup draw with Cardiff and a sheepish yet predictable apology for going missing yesterday. I’m sure the Australians who read the blog will understand.

Andrei Arshavin

So it’s big, big, big news to start with: Arsenal and Zenit St Petersburg have agreed a fee for Andrei Arshavin. Reports suggest that the two clubs have finally seen eye-to-eye and all that’s required is the Russian to agree personal terms before the move is made official.

I would expect Arshavin to be presented as an Arsenal player in the couple of days. I’ll make more of comment on Arshavin when the move is made official but in short it’s definitely something work getting excited about.

Cardiff v Arsenal

A draw was probably the right result in a game we really should have won but easily could have lost on Sunday. There’s not much point in covering old ground and a delightfully accurate match report from The Cannon should do the trick in that area. What is worth saying is that I think it’s great that we’re still in the competition and I’m extremely confident that we’ll get the right result at the Emirates.

And that’s really it for today. It’s a bit short and sweet at the moment, what with Australia day and everything yesterday, but hopefully things should pick up with the signing of Arshavin and the Everton game tomorrow.

Cheers, and have a good one.

Have your say on Arshavin and the draw with Cardiff by leaving a comment.

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Comments

  1. Whether Arshavin brings his wage demands could be a reflection of his commitment to the club.

    As for Australia day, I’m a South African. Nuff said (tongue in cheek)

  2. It certainly is a big week for the gunners, Everton tomorrow night, we need three points there and hopefully with news that AA has signed would give the players a bit of a boost. Not that I’m being pessimistic but we have agreed terms with Zenit we will agree terms with AA only to find that he fails the medical, no I didn’t say that. I am living in Turkey and watched a very bad broad cast of the cup game, what I saw made me think we were lucky to still be in the draw, but we now have a very good chance of making it in to the quater finals with the way the darw went. Finally please let the AA saga be over, I look on the web at midnight only to find out it had still to be decided, maybe tomorrow!!!

  3. Agreeing with Zenit over Arshavin’s transfer is a very pretty decision taken by the management. In fact, we Arsenal Fans are very happy. We are glad to welcome him to home of quality soccer. Arshavin, we love you all. See you at Emirate Stadium.WENGER I HAIL YOU.WHAT A WONDERFUL DEAL!

  4. Well im more confident on the little russian now, he is a class act. Cant see any other signings though.

  5. so somebody tell me why we have not bid for veloso?!?!?$#!?!$?!?$!$!

    sometimes wenger….

    anyways- Screw you SA! you wont get no1 spot!

  6. Apparantly the delay is in the personal terms for Arshavin…he has a clause in his contract that needs to be bought out for £3.5 million that he wants Arsenal to pay and also there needs to be more perks for him as to fit in with the rigid pay structure at Arsenal that, rightly so, AW wont budge on AA will need to take a £20k a week paycut…reckon we might be made to sweat this one out and no official declaration of the signing will happen until next Monday!!…..
    Im still a little confused and concerned though as AA is an attacking midfielder that can play striker….what with the return of Eduardo imminent we seem to be quite well off in that department…its the defensive midfield role we need to stregthen..Denilson is fine but what with all the injuries its a tad scary!!….as is the bloody english weather!……preciso voltar no Brasil agora!!!!!

  7. Arshavin said he will reduce his wage demands earlier this month. So if Zenit is legit, it should be a done deal.

    Australia day? I dont know what that. All i know is that the Proteas beat the crap outa the Ozzies in both the test and ODI series.

  8. Australia Day? So you were on the lash again SF? Keep an eye on that liver, son! No need to apologise if you miss a day or two- it’s your blog mate!
    Arshavin: I’m sure it’s now a done deal. The Russkies held out for as long as possible, hoping for late interest from other clubs. There hasn’t been any, so they’ll sell him to us. Recruiting any quality player is a good thing, so this will be a boost to squad and fans alike. Peter Dalison is right, we need to focus on 3 points at Everton now.

  9. @ Fatboy – I certainly was. It wasn’t as bad as maybe it could’ve been, but if I’d tried to write a post yesterday I think my credibility may have sunk to a new low. Heh heh.

    I’m actually quite excited about the Everton game tomorrow. A real challenge for the squad and it should be a very nice contest.

  10. I wont turn my nose up at the signing of Arshavin for the Arsenal as im just surprised we’re actually signing somebody to my amazement. But if we are to bring in players, why should it not be in the DM role? If a club like Bolton can come up with £12m for someone like Miguel Veloso who is very highly rated and has Champions League pedigree, why should Arsenal not be interested and for £12m?? He was priced at around £20m+ a few years back when Utd and Arsenal were admiring him? Surely Arsenal need to strengthen this area of the pitch before the forward line is added to!! Although in watching games recently, without Fabregas we have no player who can unlock defences with a key pass, RVP excluded as i want to see him in the box finishing off these passes! So bring on Arshavin and put in in RM for the hapless Eboue and if your feeling the purse strings loosen Arsene, have a bid for Veloso while your at it!

  11. Any claims that the Arshavin deal could collapse because of wage demands are absolute nonsense. While clubs haggle over a transfer fee, the agent is in dialogue with the buying club telling them exactly what his client expects should a fee be agreed. There should never be any surprise at a players wage demands as it’s common knowledge that these are known by the people who need to know. I can only assume that if a fee has been agreed then the deal will go through soon enough. If it doesn’t I wonder what excuse our board will give? On another matter, it’s interesting to see that Bolton have opened talks with Veloso for around £12m. This guy was worth £20-25m a few months ago so is he just not as good as people thought or would that price constitute a bargain? Anyone seen enough of him to know?

  12. denilson is statisitcally speaking our best player for this season.idiots have even blamed him for cesc’s poor season ( shows a lack of football knowledge). what are the differnces between our team now and the invincibles?. ok, the invincibles season we won 26 games drew 12 scored 73 and coneeded 26. we won with 90 points. the differnce between 1st and second place was 11 points. and 1st and fourth was 30!. that shows a massive gap. last season manchester united won with 87 points. the gap between them and second place was 2 points. and the gap between them and 4th was 11 points. in the invincible season are goals for per game was 1.9 and against was 1.4. last season was better with the same goals for at 1.9 but the against was even lower then the invincible season at 0.8 goals conceeded per game. ( and people complain about our defence). so no less then 4 seasons after the invincbles ( all trophy less) the differnce isnt that great on paper. the real obvious problem is our competition have gotten better and better. 83 points secured second place for 04/05 season and 05/07 but last season that only got you 3rd. this season we have averaged 1.6 goals a game (0.3 differnce to invincible season) and goals against is 1.09 (a diffence of 0.31 goals conceeded better then the invincible season). so there it tells you our defence is the same or better then the invincible season. our attack isnt quite as potent ( only slightly). so can we lay off denilson ? can we stop blaming him?. can we stop going on about the need for a dm when i have made it quiet obvious we dont need 1. its amazing just how compettive and tight it is in the premier league from today since the invincibles. i didnt realise just how significant this factor was.

  13. It’s just gotta be good news that Arshavin is joining, even as a psychological boost to the team at this point. However, unless we add to our defence, we’ll be found out in the league and the CL in the coming months and are not as much of a sure thing for 4th place as we were last year. Wenger in for a defender anyone?

  14. @ Neilo:- I agree with you mate, we need a CB and a DM. AW may surprise us with a couple of late signings, though I doubt it.

    @ Gibbs:- Have faith my friend, it’ll happen.

  15. @SF, a bit of Tiger beer yesterday??? Enjoy bro.Dont know much abt Australlian day, but sounds to be an important day and fun day for you to fail us yestrday.
    Arsha is dfntly coming,I also think that the personal terms are nonsense.He must have known all of this b4 he engaged himself.
    Cardiff game is no worry!!We will crash them at the Emirates. The only pbm is the psychological effect on our players after the draw result, coz we’ve been having such a good continious uplifted psychological pace since the last 3 games b4 Cardiff’s.Now,i dont know what could be the effect of that with the Everton game tomrw.We’ve had some couple of gud occasions thou, which can keep us to stay strong, but apparently, Everton is a strong side from wht Ive seen agst Livrpool ystday, and also,they will play us home.So for me, this is gonna be our breakthru for this season.If we will win tommrw, then I can really say now that the PL tittle is practically very very possible.And this will be a big boost for the squad.We will play some strong team next month but most of them are at home, small teams will be played away.So lets see whats gonna happen.
    Line up: To me, Song has played a very gud game agst Cardiff, so this might convince AW to put him on within our stratin 11.I really woud love to see Vela tomrw but Im not sure if Le Boss will play him.
    One thing also is: Gallas will play tomorw, Im sure!!!

    SAGNA-GALLAS-DJOUROU-CLICHY
    ——— SONG ———
    EBOUE —–DENI———NASRI
    ———RVP-ADE————–

    There’s also a strong possibility that AW will play Deni deep in the flank and put Diaby on as AM, but I prefer to see the 1st line up.

  16. Don’t know what to believe now. Just watched AW and he categorically denies that a deal has been done for the Russian !Says he’s not responsible for statements from Zenit(ie,what they’re saying) and again denies any deal.Says he admires Micah Richards but says Arsenal have not made an offer.Wish it was 3rd Feb and window closed.

  17. I know we are going to win tomorrow. But he should not field Diaby and Eboue. they are messing up. Bendtner should be brought in second half.

    AW, sign Arshavin and lets celebrate a little bit

  18. but the comments seemed very firm and positive.Goal.com has been always reputated unreliable source but AW has been always very discret about transfer especially this season, bcoz of ManCity’s massive cash offloading to hunt players with big names

  19. 4 Years, Zero Trophies.

    6 points behind Astonvilla as of today. I haven’t watched Villa’s game lately but they look like a decent team. 2 years before we could have been relegated to UEFA cup until when Spurs-jokers saved our season. Astonvilla are not jokers. They are not losing points at all. Their defensive organization is superior than ours which is very important in this league.

    3 points is must against in-form Everton. It will be really tough to beat them in Goodison Park. If we play like Cardiff game, we will lose. I wouldn’t mind being 6 points behind Manu but Villa I can’t take it.

    Oh! Some gunners think We still play the best football in Europe. Anybody who have been watching Arsenal season will not agree. OR anybody who is watching Barca, Manu, Milan. We are playing like Bolton, seriously.

    P.S. We believe in Wenger’s “Internal Solutions Startegy”. We Morons.

  20. United 5-0
    Villa 1-0

    When will Villa drop some points? This is getting ridiculous…

    And once again Ronaldo boosts his numbers with 2 goals against Bolton- after they were up 3-0.. Cant belive this guy wins awards. In all honesty if John Terry makes that Penalty in Moscow I dont think he wins at all. What a disgrace.

    Everton tomorrow will be real tough- we ned to come to play

  21. I dont hate Villa, i just hate lady luck. If we dont get the CL spot, itll be her fault. Scoring with clear handballs and given penalties for fouls outside the box, i wish we had that kind luck.

    Anyway, we should be concentrating on ourselves, not Villa. Keep fighting and grinding for wins. If we win at least 16 of our 18 games, we should be title contenders.
    COMEON YOU GUNNERS!

  22. Gibbs, Do you seriously think that our team with Diaby, Almunia, Song, Eboue can win the remaining 16 matches league. It’s insane. I think we have to forget about winning title instead we need to concentrate on surpassing Astonvilla. Astonvilla are not winning games because of their luck only. Their defense is well-organized and they find ways to nick a goal. That’s a sign of a good team. If you remember Mourinho’s Chelsea, they won back to back titles with a solid defense. Results matters and “League table matters”. Arsenal 6 points behind high-ball Astonvilla. We need a minimum of two signings before this window close. Two seasons earlier we almost finished fifth. Spurs-wankers saved our season. This season is looking similar to 2006 season.

  23. I do have to agree with New-Arse-Hole Villa which we all thought were decent side. But now they are proving their mental strength. As far as luck is concerned champions make there own luck and it is showing. If we see the games in which Villa were behind especially against arsenal they kept on pressing throughout the game. But I find our team gave up most of the match when they went down especially against Astonvilla at Emirates and against stokecity against liverpool and one of the match were I thought that arsenal defense was weaker than my local team defense was against Spurs in emirates. The list goes on and on. We have been so inconsistent throughout. Come on guys digest the truth Title is gone. It is important to get into the top four by wining games and praying that villa should drop points. As far as transfer is concerned F**K of that and lets concentrate on wining games one by one. This is an crucial season for us 4th is the minimum requirement for an club as good as arsenal. Otherwise this would be an disaster season for us.

  24. @ New-Arse-Hole
    Song and Diaby are not our first choice players. They do have moments of brilliances though, so they arent all bad.
    A Walcott-Deni-Nasri-Vela midfield can win us the title without Cesc and Rosicky. I also dont mind Eboue on the right, he does bring a little width in the team but he has to improve on his passing and crossing. I guess i am a bit like Wenger, i do believe that our team can compete with the best in the world.

  25. AL Gunner is bang on when he says “come on guys,digest the truth”. I’m all for being positive and getting behind the team but I’m SICK of listening to(from AW too) “look at the players we have injured ,IF they were playing we can beat anybody, we can win the title”.IF my granny’d had bollocks she’d have been my grandad !IF gets you nothing.Those who are out injured ARE OUT INJURED ! They’re not playing guys.We need strength in depth NOW if we are going to qualify for 4th – forget the League-that’s not going to happen.Does anybody honestly think we’re going to catch Man U ???? AL Gunner is exactly right when he says “our team gave up most of the match when they went down”. THEY DID.We no longer have any “fight” at the back. I’m not going to name examples from the past but Gunner fans know who I’m talking about.We need a ‘keeper too because Almunia is not a safe pair of hands.We need to play Vela a lot more than we do.I find myself going from being a “worshipper” of AW to beginning to question where he’s taking us.Is he “living the dream” at our expense? Personally I don’t give a toss whether Arshavin comes or not – I don’t think he’s the player(position) we should have been targeting.I have a horrible feeling that we’re going to close the transfer window and find we have bought nobody – and THAT’S NOT AMBITION folks.AW is(was?) a great manager but I think the economist in him is taking over.He should quit talking about the economy and get on with putting together a team that will win the Champions League and the Premiership – that means telling the money men at the club to get their hands in their pockets and spend.4 years is A LONG TIME folks!

  26. No wonder but patience pays, AA will join us and for sure we will have a mazing football.Lets pray St. Pet. have a stable stand that favour us

  27. The Arsenal manager should get a little serious otherwise Arsenal may even fail to go campions league.

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