“Arshavin is Gooner” 3 February, 2009

I’ve been waiting to link to this article for a very long time and now that I finally can it doesn’t seem real. A massive 24 hours after the transfer window shut all the paperwork was finally done and one of the longest transfer negotiations ever is now done. The past day has been incredibly stressful but I’m so glad that we can now move on to looking forward to what he can do for us. We were given special dispensation from the Premier League to go ahead with the signing and his official join date is a quite strange 3rd February 2009.

I was listening to an interview on Sky Sports News with an agent who was representing Arsenal in the deal and he revealed all the problems with the move. He said we did absolutely everything to get this deal done and got all our paperwork done way before the 5.00pm deadline but the Russians were a few hours late on it, putting everything in doubt. He says there was one point today when Arshavin was knelt on the floor in distress that it all might not happen. Also, at the last minute – after all the flirting, Zenit realized they’re losing a great player and started to have second thoughts. The agent was also saying that he was wondering around last night in an Arsenal shirt like a fan and is genuinely excited to be joining us.

This evening Andrey Arshavin was finally revealed in front of gathered Arsenal fans presenting the no.23 shirt. You can watch an interview here from that first glimpse of Arshavin as an Arsenal player – he says he has “been Gooner” for a long time and is really happy he “is now officially Gooner” and that he can concentrate on his football. He said that he was surprised and grateful to see the fans show so much support on his signing. He also said that he is lacking a bit of fitness at the moment but remained optimistic about a possible debut vs. Spurs and knew it would be up to Wenger. I think he could be named as a sub; he would have some impact if the game wasn’t going to plan.

Here’s what Wenger said on the signing:

“We are delighted to have signed Andrey Arshavin, he is a player I have admired for a long time. He is a versatile player with great experience, who will add real quality to our squad. Andrey is an exciting impact player with a huge amount of ability and has been an influential force with both Zenit St Petersburg and the Russian national team in recent seasons.”

I guess Wenger plans to use him immediately on the wing; he likes putting attacking midfielders in that role. He is also very capable coming through the middle and an option as 2nd striker. It think he will be a great addition to our squad, especially at this time with all the injuries we have.

You can read more shinfo* on our new signing if you like, but none of that matters to me – he needs to prove himself on the pitch now and show us what all the hype is about. I’m excited about the future of our season now; he could just be the key to lifting some spirits and providing that bit extra going forward.

That’s about it for today, I need to rest after this emotional rollercoaster. Good luck Andrey, I’m glad you are now finally Gooner. Thanks for reading, speak to you soon.

[* Shinfo - Shitty Information]