Out-of-form Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin admits he is finding it difficult to play at a satisfactory level at the moment, but is comforted by the fact that it is not costing the team too dearly.
The Russian has not reached his usual heights this season, despite some good numbers on goals and assists, and says he also finds it strange being on the bench so much recently.
“It’s true that, at the moment, I’m not happy with how I’m playing,” he revealed.
“I feel that I’m making mistakes that I shouldn’t be – not giving good passes and losing a lot of balls. It’s hard to give reasons but I am working hard to get back to my best and am confident it will come.
“It’s an unusual situation because I’m not used to being on the bench this much. Maybe I had one period like this back at Zenit St Petersburg but it was a bit shorter.”
The 29-year-old says that the win over Chelsea seems to have kick-started Arsenal’s season, and hopes their form since then can see them in for a shout of winning the title.
He added: “I can’t complain when the team is doing this well, though – our recent form in the league has been excellent.
“I look at the Chelsea game and think that maybe it turned our season.
“We’ll see, of course, but since this game we’ve done very well and our level has been good. I think that game can help us considerably over the rest of the season.”
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