Tuesday 3 February 2009

Arshavin is like Hleb with b******s!

Many Gooners felt that Alexander Hleb didn't bring much to Arsenal. I disagree with that.

In my opinion he was a fantastic player with the ability to hold the ball better than anyone else in the Arsenal squad. This created space and allowed Cesc Fabregas more room to weave his magic.

Arshavin is similar to Hleb in his ability to glide past players and hold the ball up. The only difference is that Arshavin will actually attempt to shoot.

Many said that Hleb was a good player but with no end product, well Andrei Arshavin certainly has that. His vision to spot a pass and his shooting range will endear him to Gooners.

That's why I believe Arshavin is like Hleb, but with bollocks.

Hleb was outstanding in his last season with Arsenal. I felt the way he left was disappointing but Arshavin can do the job Hleb did, but even better.

The signing is a welcome boost to the squad and one player in particular, Cesc Fabregas. As I mentioned Fabregas benefited from Hleb last season. He will benefit from Arshavin too.

I'm not expecting miracles from Arshavin, especially straight away. He isn't match-fit and needs time to adapt to Arsenal and the rigours of the English Premiership.

Having said that, I think he will adapt quicker than we think though. I know the Russian league isn't at the same standard as the Premiership but he is quality, proven by his performances for Russia.

Keep it Goonerish..........

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say a note to all the so called Arsenal fans out there blasting Wenger & the Board yesterday - always, always, always wait until everything has been finalised & until the transfer deadline has passed before slagging off the club you apparently love, do not ever listen to any of the blogs you get on here or any of the cr*p in the press - nothing is ever final until Arsenal come out with a statement saying someone has been signed! Some of the stuff I read yesterday from so called fans was a complete disgrace - wonder if any of them will be big enough now to admit they were wrong? I doubt it.

Anonymous said...

Nasri is Hleb's replacement u mug!!

Arshavin we will have to wait n see him play for us b4 we start making judgements!!

Anonymous said...

Err actually Nasri was Rosiky Replacement u MUG!

Arshavin is actually Hleb replacement.

Anonymous said...

Im pleased he has arrived I agree its a good signing, The thing that I cant understand though in december we knew we had lost cesc, rosicky,or theo for at least 2 months. why wait until the last minute of the transfer window to sign him. I know zenit were holding out but with our 3 other influential creative players out if we signed him 1st Jan he would be first team ready now.

Looking at the pictur on SKY i reckon he looks like he is in good shape and hopefully will hit the ground running.

At last a decent signing

Anonymous said...

we don't need arshavin, we need a brick shithouse to play alongside Toure and another one to play alongside fabregas because if you hadn't noticed by now: Diaby, Song Eboue are a fucking waste of time and they should have all been cleared out long before yesterday

Anonymous said...

How is Nasri, Rosicky's replacement u muppet!!

Hleb played in place of Rosicky, as Rosicky has been injured forever and Rosicky is still at Arsenal, so how can u replace a player who is still at the club and is on the mend??!!

Anonymous said...

Nasri was no-body's replacement, he's been on Wenger's books for years. We need this, so I'm delighted.

Anonymous said...

yes, nasri was rosicky's replacement, arshavin is hleb's replacement, when rosicky comes back he will be like a new signing as wenger said, so he will replace the guy who goes out of the door come summer...it is all a cycle :P

seriously, great to see arsenal show some intent in the transfer market and sign a player who should really improve the team in the short run, rather than someone who hs the potential to be a great player in some years. hoping to see arsenal's season kick off from here, move up to 3rd or 2nd in the league and win the fa cup. Then the priority in the summer will be to keep this bunch intact (mainly talking about cesc) and maybe sign a commanding centre back, someone like hangelend or maybe a cheeky bid for laursen.

Anonymous said...

Arsenal are agreed to sign Andrei Arshavin for a total cost of £16.5m, according to Zenit St Petersburg, but i guarantee you Arsenal would make the deal Undisclosed as they would not like us fans to know how much they over spent on him

Anonymous said...

I like Arshavin but I can't believe Arsene didn't make a DEF-MIDFIELDER his priority !!???

Anonymous said...

I view any comment on any blog, web site ,TV or press as if it were made by a spurs supporter. If you are a true gooner,you wouldn't say anything bad about your club.
If Wenger was for sale tomorrow every big team in the world would want him,including ManUre Chelski and Liverpool.
Arsenal and the supporters KNOW what we are doing,and we do it well.

Wrighty7 said...

I think Arshavin is a real signig of intent that is long over-due.

Arsenal won't say how much they spent and Zenit won't reveal that they sold for less than they wanted.

We will NEVER know how much he cost!

Anonymous said...

i am not surprised we did not sign a defensive midfielder. we are not scoring enough if anything at the moment, don't think the defence has given away much in the last couple of months

Anonymous said...

Goodplaya, 30 June 2008
http://www.arsepod.co.uk/wordpress1/?p=584

"The final touches to Alex Hleb’s move have been completed as swiftly as one of his one on ones. In the meantime, we met Arshavin: Hleb with balls."

Anonymous said...

I dont know why the DM thing is such a big deal. Next season the Denilson Fabregas partnership will be the best in the land without doubt.

Optimism now guys lets get behind the team, we have got to put the scum back in the bottom 3 saturday.

Anonymous said...

100% agree - our problem this season HAS NOT been in the defense, it's been in the attack. You don't solve a 0-0 scoreline by buying a defensive midfielder or a big defender.

You can concede 1 or 2 if you keep scoring 3. Attack is ALWAYS the priority.

Wrighty7 said...

Nice one Goodplaya!

Anonymous said...

f*cking arsenal fans are a joke so quick 2 jump on the bandwagon, i agree that eboue is not a right sided midfielder and seems 2 break up the flow of the team a lot and get out of position, but denilson has been brilliant this year, his positional play is superb but u fickle fans dnt notice that do u? he may give the ball away now and then, but he is a super little player! you guys done the same with flamini i recall, remember people saying he is not good enough in his first 2 seasons and we should get rid, but wenger kept faith and look at what a good player he become! denilson in his first full season has been better than flamini and at 20 years will be better than him!

diaby is a fantastic player who is improving, he has hardly played CM for arsenal but he has been excellent in the last couple of games and as much as u guys dont rate bendtner he was ok against west ham. Problem with you so called Arsenal fans is you listen to much 2 what u hear in the media, traditionally known for jumping on the bandwagon! you should all be ashamed of yourself and recognise that we still have a good side that is just underperforming this season!

we are missing something i am the first to admit it but some of u guys are ridiculous when u draw up dream teams and stuff! we could buy 10 new players and still not win the league! look at spurs!!

Anonymous said...

In case you hadnt noticed, Arshavin hasnt officially signed and until I see him holding up his Arsenal shirt or the official site says so.

Anonymous said...

zenit are saying the deal could end up being worth £17 mill, with 15 mill up front.

yes it is a good signing, but i still cant help but feel that this deal could and should have been completed a couple of weeks ago.

maybe if the board had pulled its finger out we might not have had our latest little blip of poor results...

i stand by my comments yesterday that this board needs freshening up.

pleased with the signing, but still unimpressed by the way we completed the transfer.

Anonymous said...

manuel mate! are you an arsenal director? no u aint mate, so how can u comment on how the transfer was conducted. all u can do is guess like the media do! wenger always said he was prepared 2 wait til the last minute.

Anonymous said...

we didn't have to allow this transfer to take all month that's all i am saying anon.

especially when we have ended up paying nearer their valuation than ours anyway!

the last two major transfers we have been involved in (nasri and arshavin) have been allowed to develop into totally unecessary sagas.

maybe it is just frustration talking, but i just think we could have got this deal sorted far earlier rather than leaving it so bloody late that still over half a day after the deadline it hasnt been confirmed.

Anonymous said...

ERRRRR! Actulally Nasri was no ones replacement! He was a new signing you fr*#ks! But now we have Arshavin! I do not expect instant performance from him but i am sure he will be one of our star attractions!

Unknown said...

its a relieve that somehow we signed someone...im sure the whole squad is happy with the new edition although the pressure is on arshavin now....maybe now adebayor will feel pressured to improve his game rather than playing like he is a girl...
we definitely need a miracle to win the title this year and i hope that miracle is called arshavin...
we need someone genuine putting himself second to the team like clichy, fabregas, toure...
really missin pires and ljunberg now...
i end by this phrase " go gooners"

Anonymous said...

"diaby is a fantastic player who is improving, he has hardly played CM for arsenal but he has been excellent in the last couple of games and as much as u guys dont rate bendtner he was ok against west ham. Problem with you so called Arsenal fans is you listen to much 2 what u hear in the media"

right so you recite wenger's positively biased comments which aren't true SO FAR and it's clear for everyone to see, media bandwagon or not, yet WE are the ones believing crap the media tells us.

diaby and denilson might yet become world class, but this season both have been lightweight for the most part. That's not the media telling me to think that, that's my eyes after watching him and not reciting what Wenger tells me.

Also has it not occurred to you that people criticise the club because they think it could be better. That's wanting the best for Arsenal, not being against it. Yes men don't contribute anything to anything apart from brown nosing others. If Arsenal underperform or make mistakes we get frustrated because we don't want to see it happen again.

THAT is supporting your team, not blindly accepting whatever happens positively even if it costs the club badly. If ou support ARsenal you want them to achieve their potential.

Jesus Christ yes men like you fuck me off.

Anonymous said...

in fact it's like saying if your kid does his homework all wrong you should just leave him to it rather than helping him get it right and improve it. it doesn't mean you don't love him, it's the opposite.

Anonymous said...

On DM cover, the problem this season is that a lot of Arsenal fans havent had faith in the squad, you see the line up at the start of the game and immediately think 'Ooh we gonna struggle, we weak' and then you dont watch the game in totality. becasue you already made the assumption that Denilson, Diaby are not good enough, any little error gets jumped on, but we ignore the good play, the little intercepts or tackles. Denilson has done brilliantly for his first season and can only see him getting better.

On bbc the sports analyist was saying that it was Zenit who dont even need the money from the sale of Arshavin, and have actually just dug their heals in and made the contract talks a disaster out of spite, becuase of Arshavin demanding a move. Its a joke really, but hopefully its all final now and he can start starring for us

Anonymous said...

Arsene Wenger has never been involved in such a long drawn transfer process, with the majority of his signings coming from left-field. This has given the news that Arshavin (should be)signing as a bit of an anti-climax. I can see exactly why Arsene has recruited Andrei as his attributes link in to those that Hleb brought to the side. If Cesc can link up with him as well as he did with Hleb, then we'll look strong.
My concern is the fact we didn't bolster our centre of defence and midfield. Denilson, Song and Diaby have all done well, though none have taken the position by the scruff of the neck and given a reason for wneger not to drop then (like Flamini did).
I feel we need a Vidic at the back (a no nonsense defender - that will deliver fear to opposing strikers), a ball winner in the centre of the park - Petit, Vieira, Gilberto, Flamini, Yaya Toure, Gattuso, who can sit next to Cesc and allow him to dictate the game.
Arsene's philosophy will more than likely come into fruition in the next 2-3 yrs, though my fear is that Cesc, Van Persie, Walcott and a few others won't be around to see it.. This is why we need ready made players in key positions to ensure we put pressure on the top teams.
My other fear is that Andrei will use Arsenal like a stepping stone like Hleb, to then move onto Barcelona (his dream club he mentioned last summer)

Anonymous said...

Denilson will be an absolute superstar
He has captained Brazil at all ages and as a 20 year old, has anchored Arsena's midfield almost all season, whether playing as a DM, a creative midfielder or a Left sided midfielder.

chris said...

Its been very un Arsenal-like.
Assuming it's been done (please God but I'm still very worried - did you see the AA quote I think I've moved ffs!) it feels like Zenit wanted a lot more than they were being offered and maybe Arshavin too and whilst Arshavin might be prepared to budge Zenit could wait and wait - it's no loss to them if he goes late although it might be if it hasn't been completed in time.
Of course Arsenal would have wanted him on 1 January but that was never going to happen for the money they were offering(although I agree with those guys who say a few extra mill would have been worth it to tie up the deal and get a few extra games this season if you turn yourself into a property development company just before the market crashes you've got to expect problems on the cash flow side).
Overall very drawn out and nervy Zenit seeming like they wanted to put a big tough f off face on it but probably a great deal overall IF IT GOES THROUGH.

The reason's simple: Arshavin is exceptional (imo at a level with the best in the world).
He's absolutely the real deal and would benefit any team in Europe except maybe Barcelona. He will certainly benefit Arsenal in 5th place and scoring less goals than ever.

Unknown said...

Can we stop calling these guys "Replacements" Hleb was Hleb, and is gone, Rosicky is still there and has not been Replaced as you say. Nasri and Arshavin are their own personalities and we hope they can both bring success to our team. I'm sure Wenger does not look for direct replacements when a player leaves, but he wants a unit that will work well together. Just get behind the team, forget about the past, and make a bit of noise at the home of football, if any of you lot actually go to games?

Anonymous said...

I'm suprised that Arsenal had any dealing's with a Russian mafia club like Zenit. All these eastern block football teams are rife with dodgy dealings and back hander's.
I bet Arshavin could not wait to get out of Russia and play for a team like Arsenal,I just hope he dosen't bring all his russian hangers on with him.
I bet Usmanov had something to do with it,trying to get a big fat cut out of the deal. Low life's...all of them!

Anonymous said...

seriously now. what is going and why is it taking so long to finalise this deal?

sky said there were also other deals that hadn't been ratified. my optimistic side is thinking maybe one of those deals involves us and the club are preparing us for a double whammy signing...

my more realistic side is just getting slightly doubtful.

dont understand how it has taken until now at 1pm and the deal still isnt done...

slightly concerned, but still very optimistic.

Anonymous said...

Look ARSESAVING signed a loyalty deal with ZENIT to increase his wages back in the summer as he was staying on and now he's f***ing off, so you can't blame ZENIT for squeezing any business would in todays climate......

Anyway we got the boy and now lets hope he can adjust quickly without injurys and delays and add what we've been missing all season.....

Anonymous said...

i think ade badplayer and his diving mate eboue are responsible for were we are now. these 2 non trying arseholes have resulted in the crowd getting at the players and effecting the rest of the team . the sooner we get rid of these to fakes the better

Johno said...

This is great news , i think we need this player more than a def and a mid . its clear that we're not making chances / scoring goals. also its an statement of intent that we are looking to bring in the best possible players available to the club. Hopefully this will be enough for RVP and Cesc to stay for another year !

zenom said...

Anywayz Arshavin should prove his quality here at Arsenal, especially after arguing for a long time about his wages.....

Anonymous said...

so Finally, "Arshavina" signs for Arsenal. good Signing. Let's not xpect too much from him. Let's give him little time to blood in. He will come good with time.

from Ojaimo

Anonymous said...

finally!!! AA23!!! :)
i nearly died last nite..hahah