| Name |
Andrei Arshavin |
| Height |
5 ft 7 in |
| Naionality |
Russian |
| Date of Birth |
29-May-1981 |
| Place of Birth |
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Famous for |
Football Player |
Andrei Arshavin also known as Shava, is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Arsenal and is an ex-captain of the Russian national team. Arshavin began his career at Zenit in the year 2000. He won numerous trophies with the club until his departure in 2009 including the Russian Premier League, Russian Premier League Cup, Russian Super Cup, UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. During his time with Zenit, Arshavin was named Russian Footballer of the Year.
In 2009, Arshavin signed for the English Premier League club Arsenal, becoming the most expensive player in Arsenal's history at that time with a fee of £15 million. Arshavin returned to Zenit on 24 February 2012 for a loan deal that concluded in July 2012. In 2000, Arshavin was included in the Zenit first-team squad, making his debut in a 3–0 away win over English side Bradford City in the Intertoto Cup, coming on as a first half substitute for Andrey Kobelev. He played in various positions on the field, starting as a right midfielder, then as an attacking midfielder, and finally adopted the second striker's role playing on a flank or behind the target man. In the 2007 Russian Premier League season, Shava (Шава in Russian), as he was nicknamed by Zenit fans, guided his Zenit Saint Petersburg side to the title, starting all 30 matches, scoring 11 goals and providing 11 assists (the most in the Russian Premier League that year) along the way.
It was the club's first league title since winning the now defunct Soviet Top League in 1984. Arshavin was also a key player during Zenit's 2008 UEFA Cup triumph and was named Man of the Match in the final, again topping the list for assists in that season's UEFA competition. In October 2008, Arshavin was nominated for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award, along with 29 others including compatriot Yuri Zhirkov. Arshavin wore the number 23 shirt, last worn by Sol Campbell. As Arshavin had played for Zenit in the 2008–09 Champions League, he was cup-tied and could not play for Arsenal in the knockout phase. Arshavin made his debut for Arsenal against Sunderland on 21 February 2009 in the Premier League which ended 0–0.
On 3 March 2009, Arshavin made his first contribution in a Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion by setting up a goal for Kolo Touré in the 38th minute via a free-kick, the second goal in a 3–1 victory. On 14 March 2009, Arshavin scored his first Arsenal goal in a very tight angle going solo against Blackburn Rovers in the 65th minute of the game. He later provided an assist to Emmanuel Eboue for the third goal of the game, which ended 4–0 to Arsenal.
