But it was on that heady night at Anfield he truly marked his arrival in English football. He scored again in a 4-1 stroll at Wigan. I'm disappointed that the sensational start he made just didn't propel him into the stratosphere.'ДЄrshavin's first Arsenal goalВ came in a routine 4-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates in March 2009. And I still feel sad about it, because he was a very talented player. 'Then systems change, personnel come and go, the ground got a bit soft under his feet. 'The first few weeks, the first month, the first year even, he was much loved,' Smith says. Those who feel most bitter about his time at the club are surely the hoards who fell at his feet when he first wowed them. It's one of the reasons that they're a bit slower moving in the market than some.ДЄrshavin was booed after coming on against Manchester United in 2012 GettyДЇor many fans, the enigma of Arshavin has remained largely intractable.

And they like to make sure that the stats stack up. 'The club own a stats company based in Chicago, which has an office-I always call it a warehouse-in Cambodia where they have stats on just about every player on the planet. 'Arsenal are very American corporate the way they approach transfers,' Smith tells Bleacher Report. This, after all, was a club with a reputation for deeply considered transfer activity. Making such a big investment was not something Arsenal took lightly. Arsenal were able to confirm the ВЈ15 million arrival of one of Europe's most sought-after players-a 27-year-old playmaker in his prime-and their fans were ecstatic. There were seconds to go before deadline when an email reading simply 'AGREED' arrived with the Football Association. If he was shortly to be calling this place home, the omens were good. As weather warnings across Europe turned from moderate to severe, Smith gambled and flew his man into Stansted, booking a hotel just a 20-minute drive from Arsenal's training base at London Colney.ДЄs a blizzard whipped up, the south-east of England had never looked more like the wintery city then known as Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) where ArshavinВ was raised. His visit to Paris was publicly announced a vacation, but it was always about a potentially career-defining move. On hearing Arsenal and Arshavin shared a mutual affection, Smith put wheels in motion.ДЄrshavin had been given time off by his club, the Russian league champions Zenit, during the domestic close season. Smith's brother had played football with the brother of Dennis Lachter, Arshavin's close friend and representative. The high-end football agent had flown Andrey Arshavin in from Saint PetersburgВ several days earlier, via a short stay in Paris, and his prized asset was now holed up in the Village Hotel in the sleepy village of Elstree, Hertfordshire.ДЄs the deadline approached, it was widely reported Arsenal were pursuing Arshavin, though only the involved parties knew of the serendipity at play. It was t ransfer deadline day, February 2, 2009, and when the snow came, London ground to a standstill. Eight years on from that dazzling display against Liverpool, are we closer to knowing where it all went wrong for Arshavin at Arsenal?

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