the czars.

as expected, arshavin has been receiving overwhelming praises from all over for his performance at anfield. the work ethics the russian has been displaying is undeniable. combining this with his speed, stamina and mid range shots, andrei arshavin is without a doubt the biggest threat the gunners has within their splendid but rather ineffective style of play. the direct approach to the game is something that his fellow strikers/amf teammates van persie and bendtner have yet been displayed (although both alongside theo walcott appear to be more natural of a player than arshavin).

in my opinion, however, arshavin is not a great player in the sense that hes not unique. he reminds me of the korean nationals under hiddink. an effective player without enough control. players artificially created by fitness coaches. to me, players like arshavin does not last long in the amf position. breaking down his skills. the biggest assets are his mid range shots. as we can all recall from anfield, he pretty much was 4 for 4. both his mid ranges were struck at extreme angles. for that he should be praised. on the other hand, as calm observors of the game, we should remember that the best mid range takers of wide open shots in the past 5 years i.e. totti, schevchenko, gerrard etc. would not be able to pull that off at such angles consecutively. arshavin was good but he should not be overrated. otherwise, arshavin is a pretty average player in terms of skills and touches. creativity wise hes not outstanding either. on the flipside, his compatriot pavlychenko seems to me to have better killer instincts and positioning than him.



calling arshavin the czar reminds me of the old dynasty. his predecessors... the old czar mostovoi and karpin. in my eyes, until another splendid russian footballer comes by they will always be the true russian royalties. the finesse and game changing leadership they possessed was nothing this young russian generation can offer. think mostovoi when the commentator talks about czars next time.