FOCUS ON ARSHAVIN

Andrey Sergeyevich Arshavin is a Russian footballer born in 29 May 1981 at Leningrad, Soviet Union. He plays professional football with FC Zenit Saint Petersburg and served as the Captain of the Russian national team earlier.

His club career began with Zenit in 2000 and won several trophies, including Russian, Russian Premier League, Russian Super Cup, Premier League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup. His stint with Zenit also earned him the Russian Footballer of the Year.

Arshavin became the highest paid footballer in the history of Arsenel when they signed him for stupendous £15 ml fee in 2009 for playing Premier League. He was also on a brief spell of loan deal with Zenit of St. Petersburg till July 2012. Arshavin is 1.72m tall and he assumes the position of second striker and left winger in play wearing jersey number 23. His senior career started with Zenit earned him 236 caps and he scored 52 goals with them. His career with Arsenal till 2013 capped him 105 times and earned 23 goals. The Zenit stint till 2013 had gotten him 27 games where he scored twice for the team.

His national debut with Russia started with U-21 team and he played 9 times scoring just once during the period 2001-03. He donned the colors of the national team in 2002 and continued till 2012 playing 75 games and 17 goals.

His return to his former club Zenit, St. Petersburg materialized when he inked a two-year deal with them on 27th June, 2013. His second appearance in the league produced a goal and he netted again against FC Nordsjaelland in the Champions League. His highest achievement in the international arena the bronze medal earned in 2008 in UEFA European Football Championships. His club career includes 493 appearances, 113 goals and 162 assists.