REVEALED: Arshavin's showbiz ambitions...

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by CARL ELDRIDGE At last it can be revealed why Andrey Arshavin has been struggling to find the form he has shown in the past...he's got one eye on a showbiz career. Well, that MIGHT be the reason. For ages now we've said the little Ruskie's body language has not been right and his workrate seems to be in question and now we have a hint of an explanation from his personal website.

See this passage: Hi, Andrey! I have read your book "555 Questions and Answers" and watched the DVD included into the book. I liked it a lot. Don’t you want to try show business after your football career is over?

Arshavin: And why only after? If it doesn’t interfere with football, one can combine both ;)) Are you a producer of some popular show? Make your proposition and it will be considered :))).

Combine both? Er, how about sticking to delivering for the fans who pay your wages? Having said all that I suppose you could argue that it is all said very much tongue in cheek. Who knows? It'd be easier to take if he had inspired us to silverware this season I suppose. Then again we can't blame him alone.

On to the papers and Bacary Sagna is very much rallying the troops this morning with an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror. Well, rallying the fans as well I suppose. The France defender talks about how we are slowly but surely learning to win ugly but I am not convinced we are any stronger in this area than, say, last season. Our capitulation as the season headed towards its climax provides evidence enough that we didn't have stomach for the fight, I believe.

Sagna told the red top: "As a team we can always be better and we be will next year. But its not always about money. Money is not everything. You can buy any one player in the world but, if the opponent wants it more than you, then you can still lose.

"Manchester City have spent more than us, but today we are third and they are fifth. It's about hunger and desire and how much you want it. We all still want it. As a player of course it hurts to hear the criticism because when you are close to winning something and you don't it's a real disappointment.

"But we have to keep playing. We have one more game to show everyone that we are committed and focused. Slowly but surely we are learning how to win ugly. We know there have been many games this season where we have led, yet conceded easy goals. But we will learn from that and we continue to trust in the manager. I can understand how the fans feel because as a fan you always win to win something. Everyone understands them. But I can only tell them that we are very close."

The Telegraph reckons AW has around £35m to spend on new players and they carry quotes from him suggesting he will not be snapping up bundles of untried talent, rather looking at experienced footballers.

"If we bring some players in then they have to be experienced," he said. "I think we have been in the race this year with the team we had. We will be stronger next year just with the internal improvement and with the experience these players will have. The additions will be minimal but if there are some they have to be really top class." Looking ahead to Sunday's last remaining Premier League game at home to Fulham, the Mail says we will start with a two-pronged attack with RVP and AA gunning to get us the point we need to secure thirs spot and thus avoid the CL qualifiers.

He said: 'Andrey Arshavin should be okay and should be capable to start against Fulham, Robin van Persie too. We have the same players available [from Blackburn]. The only good news is that we may have Gael Clichy back.'

Written by: Eldo71 Friday, 07 May 2010 09:01

Comments

-1 # mmochi 2010-05-07 10:50

i prefer if we sell t lyks of silvester sendeeros n gallas bring in cahill t senegalese guy

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0 # Berg10 2010-05-07 13:26

Van Persie will be on fire. He's played a couple of games while still gaining match fitness, he's also one of few in the team at the moment with a passion for Arsenal, hopefully Arshavin will be up for it too.

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0 # db10 2010-05-07 14:41

I thought the end of this season was going to be a relaxed journey to third place. But the last game is going to be huge. If spurs win (which i think they probably will against a relegated burnley) then we need a point otherwise it will be the end of the world. If they overtake us then I will switch to the view that Wenger's time will be up. That would be an embarassment too far.

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+1 # John in Norfolk 2010-05-07 17:09

Regardless of what the fans may think, about Wenger, the board are not going to sack him, indeed they have already prepared a contract extension and are waiting for him to sign it.

He has again got the club onto the Champions League gravy train, although we don't yet know whether in third or fourth place.

Thus the revenue stream is more or less secure for the time being, so no need to pay up the remainder of Wenger's old contract, no need to pay compensation to another club in order to sign their manager.

The board will give Wenger enough to buy a couple of mid range players and expect the mugs, known as supporters, to keep turning up at the turnstiles.

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+2 # db10 2010-05-07 17:25

yeah i know its unrealistic to think that arsene will leave any time soon just as its unrealistic to expect any big name signings this summer. I have supported wenger completely for the past 5 years and will continue to do so but i'm starting to have doubts about him being the best man for the job when his extended contract runs out whereas last year I would have been happy for him to have the job for life.

I know its only been very recently (and i am being a bit fickle) but the seeming lack of motivation since we were knocked out of the CL has been apalling and it is the managers job to motivate the players.

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+1 # Berg10 2010-05-07 20:40

Dito that DB10

In the past I've felt he was restricted financially and was forced into the youth policy, now I'm unsure if this was just a part of reason and whether he is in fact a stubborn bastard, we'll see in a few weeks time.

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+3 # Hamy 2010-05-07 16:40

LOL hahaha...ok Arshavin..I got an offer for ya...How about a movie where you play in a great club called Arsenal and you are coached by a manager called Arsene Wenger..who btw kicks ass..and in that movie..you have to play your heart out for the fans and the manager who believed in you so you win against Fulham and take that momentum into next season..if you do that..I'll make sure I'll come up with an Oscar-Like trophy so you can take it and say "I was in a movie called Hush and play you lil russian!"...By the Arsenal fans...

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0 # Not over the hill 2010-05-08 16:51

Eugene Lovchev was capped 52 times for the old USSR soccer team. Incidentally he was the first player to receive a YELLOW card against Mexico in 1970 opening game in the FIFA World Cup! Stay with me!!
Last week-end he had a pot at Arshavin for "plays with the emotions of the fans", in Russian this means he has no respect for the club! This provoked Arshavin's responsie in his blog, pointing the finger at his former agen Lachter, Dennis of the ilk. Lackter was sacked over a year ago. The cause was that the new Arsenal CEO had to find £500K to pay Zenith, on behalf of Arshavin, because of his contract with Zenith. This money was raised I am told from a reliable source, within 15 minutes!!!

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0 # Not over the hill 2010-05-08 16:57

Le Boss
Sorry, this space will scoll non-stop, it seems after so many words are typed in.
Why does this happen? What is the remedy?

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0 # Berg10 2010-05-08 17:53

@ NOTH

I had the same problem a couple of years ago whilst using Internet Explorer, the quick fix for me was to switch to Mozilla.
Explorer works fine nowadays, I assume because of updates.

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