Arshavin - first impressions.

[Bergkamp-Genius]

Putting the result yesterday aside i think Arshavin showed he has a lot to offer, he's quicker than i thought and although as some have pointed out he's very small he doesn't look like he is going to have the problems the likes of Modric is having with the physical side of the premiership.
Also i was impressed at the shooting power he has in both feet with an early 25 yarder with his right which was just wide and then later in the game a powerful left footed 20 yard drive after cutting in from the right flank, it's a talent that we have sadly been missing for a quite a while, it's nice to see now we have a guy who not only likes to shoot but can do it well with both feet, from range, unfortunately i'm sure AW won't take long to coach that out of him.
As well as his shooting ability he also looks like he crosses a good ball, another skill we have been lacking in recent years and he seems to always be aware of what the best option is while on the ball, he doesn't just get it and go for glory all the time when it's not on, even though yesterday he must have been dying to show what he could do, he still made all the right decisions for the benefit of the team.
So all in all his future looks bright, even though he is not fully fit yet he has already shown he has all the tools to do some serious damage to the opposition and with Cesc about to return he will contribute in Arsh looking even better.

One downside, after watching yesterdays game i couldn't help think that Arshavin must of got a bit of a shock at just how limited some of his team mates were, i'm sure he was expecting a lot more, i just hope he doesn't start to wish he'd gone somewhere else.

[Yankee_Gooner_Dandee]

He looked good. I expected nothing less. Playing him wide limits his abilities though. He should have the free role to roam around the strikers all over, primarily in the middle because he can drive at defenders and lay off good passes or shoot good shots.

I also felt sorry for him with the rubbish team he had out there along side him. He also looked fucking GASSED like 30 minutes in which is to be expected. That will come in time.

[xDAVEYx]

my first impression: he's fucking TINY!!

he NEVER looked that small in the euros i swear!

[franksav63]

He looked good. I expected nothing less. Playing him wide limits his abilities though. He should have the free role to roam around the strikers all over, primarily in the middle because he can drive at defenders and lay off good passes or shoot good shots.

I also felt sorry for him with the rubbish team he had out there along side him. He also looked fucking GASSED like 30 minutes in which is to be expected. That will come in time.

Agree, I would like to see him in this position. The guy looks class, I wonder what Eboue was thinking watching him from the bench?

[mcdowell42]

He looked good. I expected nothing less. Playing him wide limits his abilities though. He should have the free role to roam around the strikers all over, primarily in the middle because he can drive at defenders and lay off good passes or shoot good shots.

I also felt sorry for him with the rubbish team he had out there along side him. He also looked fucking GASSED like 30 minutes in which is to be expected. That will come in time.

Agree, I would like to see him in this position. The guy looks class, I wonder what Eboue was thinking watching him from the bench?

hes as good as me

[franksav63]

He looked good. I expected nothing less. Playing him wide limits his abilities though. He should have the free role to roam around the strikers all over, primarily in the middle because he can drive at defenders and lay off good passes or shoot good shots.

I also felt sorry for him with the rubbish team he had out there along side him. He also looked fucking GASSED like 30 minutes in which is to be expected. That will come in time.

Agree, I would like to see him in this position. The guy looks class, I wonder what Eboue was thinking watching him from the bench?

hes as good as me

[Bergkamp-Genius]

He looked good. I expected nothing less. Playing him wide limits his abilities though. He should have the free role to roam around the strikers all over, primarily in the middle because he can drive at defenders and lay off good passes or shoot good shots.

I also felt sorry for him with the rubbish team he had out there along side him. He also looked fucking GASSED like 30 minutes in which is to be expected. That will come in time.

Agree, I would like to see him in this position. The guy looks class, I wonder what Eboue was thinking watching him from the bench?

Eboue was probably thinking, how come no one has realised i'm not good enough yet, Wenger was probably thinking Arsh will make a good centre half or a good back up for Eboue when he's suspended.

[Eboue-Why?]

Thought he was the mascot when they came out! Wide right is a non starter. He naturally came inside, always looking for the ball and this is crucial when you're trying to unlock a defence. Problem was Denilson and Song are too thick to think about passing it forward to a class player. They'd rather go sideways to a full back.
I think he'll be a very handy acquisition.

[donaldo]

I always thought Ashavin could play the Bergkamp role just behind the main striker.But that striker would have to be a top class finisher.Is that RVP? not sure it definately isnt Greedy.I would love to see him play behind a striker like David Villa.Ashavin would be wasted out wide in my opinion

[Captain Fabregas]

I always thought Ashavin could play the Bergkamp role just behind the main striker.But that striker would have to be a top class finisher.Is that RVP? not sure it definately isnt Greedy.I would love to see him play behind a striker like David Villa.Ashavin would be wasted out wide in my opinion

thats how i play him on Football Manager Got 30 assists last season and about 15-20 goals

[Rosie_titters]

carrying a bit of weight - hopefully that is down to the fact he hasn't played since November

i hope he becomes the next Ljujngberg not the next Luzhny

[JMascis666]

Very good that he can speak such good English. Help him settle and not not bitch and moan like that other Russian down the road.

[Red Gunner]

I think it was a nice debut. He looked confident, had a few shots and asked for the ball. He did more in the 60 minutes than Eboue has in the 60 games he's played I just hope that Wenger finds a position for Arshavin that will benefit both Arsenal and Arshavin.

[Lethal]

hes the dogs

[Bergkamp-Genius]

I think he could play both wide left and wide right and do a very good job in either position, but as has been said he's going to be more of a handful playing from the middle with the ability to roam to the left and the right when he wants. The question is how do we accommodate that.

-----------------------Almunia---------------------
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-------Sagna-----Gallas--Djourou-----Clichy----
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-------------------New quality DCM---------------
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-----------------Cesc-------Arshavin-------------
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----------Theo-------------------------Rvp--------
-----------------------Eduardo---------------------

OR

---------------------Almunia------------------------
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--------Sagna-----Gallas---Djourou-----Clichy---
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---------Theo------Cesc-------DCM------Nasri----
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-----------------------Arshavin----------------------
--------------------------Rvp-------------------------