Arsene Wenger turned to the other side of the Iron Curtain in search of that one "special player" with that "special talent" that could propel Arsenal's stuttering season into overdrive. Today, officially, Andrei Arshavin is an Arsenal player for a fee of rougly $15 million.
Wenger certainly knew of his talent previous to this transfer window. The Frenchman was reportedly interested in the versatile attacking midfielder after watching the Russian's dazzling displays at Euro 2008 that heeded the interest of a number of top European clubs, Barcelona among them.
Nonetheless, Wenger, tighter with the purse strings than a pensioner with a 401 K, was keen to wait in order to pounce in order to deflate the price. Wenger knew a number of factors that would deflate Arshavin's price, number one : the current economic climate, number two : Arshavin is currently in pre-season training and not playing in high profile matches, number three : The Russian league does not have the intense media scrutiny of Euro 2008, and it was unlikely that the player could produce repeat performances week in week out. In truth, Wenger is the perplex mixture of a Siberian tiger and an accountant when it comes to buying players; always looking for a bargain - no matter what the economic, social, or relative cost to the team. His prudent financial ends justify the means... in Arsene's eyes anyway.
So how does Arshavin fit into the Arsenal team? Well right now, that will not be very difficult. Against West Ham Arsenal were chronically lacking a player able to give and receive the ball in tight areas in the final 1/3. This was illustrated to comic book perfection when Abou Diaby, supposedly the next Dennis Bergkamp, failed to control a 5 yard angled pass 25 yards short of goal. At present, most Arsenal fans would be happy to see Arsenal play with 10 men as long as Andrei is in the team. Yes, that is how painful the situation has become. He is a player that can stop the "creative bleeding" that Arsenal are experiencing just outside the 18 yard box.
Nonetheless, thinking long term - possibly one of Wenger's few current strong points, Arshavin is merely a band-aid to a punctured wound that Arsenal have not provided any medical attention to. Yes, he solves our creativity problem in the short term, but long term, when/if Rosicky returns, and when Walcott and Fabregas follow suit - Arsenal will have an attacking splurge, with an overload of players in the same position. The one position Arsenal fans clearly touted as being critical this season, in which boots should have been filled, was the central defensive midfield position. Neither Diaby, Denilson, or Ramsey have been convincing in "the holding role", and Arsene Wenger spurned the opportunity of purchasing Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, for example, whose side are 5 points ahead of Arsenal. Sacrebleu, Monsieur Wenger!!
However, intriguingly enough, Arsenal's opponents this weekend are Tottenham Hotspur, home to one of Arshavin's few Russian counter-parts in Enlgand - Roman Pavlyuchenko. There is a further twist in the tale, as Tottenham came the closest of any club to sign Arshavin in the summer - but their 16 million pound move was re-buffed by Zenit, who were holding out for closer to 20. Due to Wenger's tigerish instincts during this grizzly transfer window, Zenit were forced to settle for just over 12. It is extremely unlikely Arshavin will start Arsenal's match at the weekend, but surley history tells us there is a winning goal from the substitutes bench written somewhere in the script for the Russian; given the cavalier nature of Tottenham Hotspur's season, it would surprise few, and provide a fairytale beginning to English football for the Russian, and most importantly, 3 needed points for the Gunners!
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