Arsenal just sold Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, leaving a gaping hole in their midfield. Jack Wilshere is set to fill it, but he is currently injured. Tomas Rosicky filled that hole on Saturday, but did not look like the Rosicky of old and has to pass a fitness test to get into the field on Tuesday night. Arsenal are thin at the attacking midfield spot and a makeshift solution might be required to fill the void against Udinese in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League playoff round tie. The good news for them is that one of the potential makeshift solutions is an excellent one.
Arsenal Vs. Udinese, 2011 UEFA Champions League Playoff Round: Andrei Arshavin And The 2008 UEFA Cup Revisited
In 2008, Zenit St. Petersburg were the best team that "no one" knew about. Of course, those who followed Russian and Eastern European football were well aware of their quality, but they were a relatively unknown quantity to most of the footy watching world. The linchpin of their side was Andrei Arshavin, the crafty and creative Russian international who played as a true No. 10.
Yes, that Andrei Arshavin. The one who has been stuck out on the wing and who has disappointed through good chunks of his time at Arsenal. In the 2007-08 UEFA Cup, he emerged from the relative shadows to become a superstar, then continued his fantastic performances at Euro 2008 for Russia. He quickly became the hottest property in European football, and after a long transfer saga, Arsenal eventually got their man.
Their recent purchases indicate that Arshavin does not have a place in the starting lineup on the wing anymore. Theo Walcott was already in the team, but the additions of Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, along with Ryo Miyaichi's newly christened work permit will lessen opportunities for the Russian international. On the wing, at least.
Back in 2008, as a No. 10 behind Pavel Pogbrenyak, Arshavin ran riot through Everton*, Villarreal, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and Rangers en route to a UEFA Cup title. It was an unbelievably brilliant series of performances, and it was those performances at that position that lead Arsenal to pay so much for him back in the winter of 2009. With Fabregas now long gone and Wilshere injured, Wenger would do well to remember that.
It’s a pipe dream for the neutral football fan, but here’s to hoping that Wenger pulls a rabbit out of his hat and Arshavin impresses in the middle against Udinese. Come Arsene, throw him in there. Surely there’s no better option at this juncture.
*Zenit did not beat Everton in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup. Whoopsies.
Arsenal vs. Udinese kicks off at 2:45 pm ET, 7:45 BST and can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel in the USA. We’ll be covering the match live in this StoryStream. For more on Arshavin and Arsenal, visit SB Nation’s Arsenal blog The Short Fuse.
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