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Arshavin finds his feet to give legs to Arsenal's revival
By Glenn Moore
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Photo AP
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Suddenly the confidence is back, and so are Arsenal. A
season that was descending into dissent, with players squabbling and fans
not just jeering players, but even questioning Arsene Wenger, has been
transformed by 10 goals in three domestic games, and a Roman triumph.
That is all it will ever take at Wenger's Arsenal. The Frenchman has constructed
a team which, with its one-touch intuitive play, needs self-belief to
thrive. When confidence dips players are prone to delay, to think too
long about the pass, to search for certainty instead of trusting in instinct.
That gives opponents time to block passing avenues, to catch runners offside,
and ambush the man in possession. That is what Blackburn will have planned
to do on Saturday, but Sam Allardyce must have feared a result like this
as soon as he heard Arsenal were returning from Italy as heroes.
''It would have been much more difficult to produce this performance had
we lost on Wednesday,'' admitted Wenger. The Arsenal manager was also
aided by being able to make four changes without noticeably weakening
the team. Among those was Andrey Arshavin who has arrived at the club
just at the right moment. His eye for the first-time pass, and his ability
on the ball, slotted perfectly into a rejuvenated side.
In between his involvement in the first and third goals Arshavin scored
a beautiful individual strike of his own. Playing behind Nicklas Bendtner,
then on the flank, he showed rich promise - and no little courage having
had four stitches inserted in his ankle at half-time. ''There was no question
that he wouldn't continue,'' said Wenger. He added of the gloves-wearing
Russian, ''He's not a soft boy at all, he's never in the medical room,
he's a tough boy.
''He works hard. He's quite surprised how hard he works [having arrived
in the Russian off-season Arsenal have put Arshavin through what was effectively
a pre-season fitness programme].
''I think he is a man of challenges,'' added Wenger. ''To leave St Petersburg
where he was the star and to go to England at 28 years of age and to say,
'Okay, I want to start it all again', you need to have character and to
like challenges. He does that in a very focussed way.''
Arsenal took nearly six months to land the St Petersburg native and, said
Wenger, Arshavin's performance showed why they persisted. ''I like players
who, in the final third, can give you hope and create something that you
don't expect. I felt that we needed that with the players we have and
with the type of game we like to play. Also we are very young and he has
experience of winning trophies [the Russian championship and the Uefa
Cup]. We lost Alex Hleb [to Barcelona] and Tomas Rosicky [to injury] so
we were a bit short of players at that age category, between 27 and 30.''
The player himself said he had taken time to adapt to England, and Arsenal,
but with his wife having joined him this week he was feeling more settled.
Arshavin added: ''It's a new type of football, it's new mates on the pitch,
and it's a little bit harder for me, but I will try to get it as quickly
as possible. It's very important to learn how integrate into the team.''
Of his goal, scored from an acute angle after he cut in from the left
and dummied Danny Simpson, he said: ''Sometimes I can do that. I want
to do it often.''
Rovers, outclassed without Roque Santa Cruz and Ryan Nelsen, and ugly
at times, could only reflect that the three points won at Fulham on Wednesday
still represented a decent return from their trip to the capital. Matches
like this will not decide their season, or Arsenal's but they do provide
a pointer to the possibilities and probabilities.
Goals: Ooijer og (2) 1-0; Arshavin (65) 2-0; Eboue (87) 3-0; Eboue pen
(90) 4-0.
Arsenal (4-4-1-1): Almunia; Sagna, Toure, Djourou, Clichy; Walcott (Diaby,
79), Denilson, Song, Nasri (Eboue, 82); Arshavin; Bendtner (Vela, 79).
Substitutes not used: Fabianski (gk), Van Persie, Gallas, Gibbs.
Blackburn Rovers (4-1-2-3): Robinson; Simpson, Ooijer, Samba, Givet (Dunn,
14); Khizanishvili (McCarthy, 65); Mokoena, Warnock (Olsson, 55); Diouf,
Roberts, Pedersen. Substitutes not used: Bunn (gk), Tugay, Andrews, Treacy.
Referee: P Dowd (Staffs).
Booked: Blackburn Rovers Ooijer, Khizanishvili, Mokoena, Diouf.
Man of the match: Arshavin.
Attendance: 60,091.
Independent.co.uk,
16 March 2009
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