Whichever way you dress it up, there is something of a back-handed compliment in being selected by Arsène Wenger for a cup tie, particularly when it is the Carling Cup, a trophy that the Arsenal manager does not value but seems to consider this season as a means to silence those who moan about the club's lack of silverware.
Andrey Arshavin did not join Arsenal in the winter of 2009 ahead of a clutch of European powerhouses to chase glory in England's second-tier knockout competition and when he steps out to face Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup semi-final second-leg at the Emirates Stadium tonight, the forward could be forgiven for harbouring mixed feelings.
The tournament has tended to provide a barometer of the progress of the club's young guns, not to mention an opportunity for the A-listers to put their feet up, but it is charting Arshavin's fall. His display in the 1-0 first-leg defeat at Portman Road was a low point in what has been a desperately disappointing six weeks or so for him.
For the first time in his Arsenal career, Arshavin finds himself on the outside looking in when Wenger picks his strongest XI for the Premier League and supporters have begun to ask questions about his attitude. There has long been the feeling inside the dressing room that Wenger has indulged the Russia captain, absolving him of the responsibility to track back and, to borrow a phrase, put a shift in for the team. Even in small-sided training matches, Arshavin can appear disdainful of defensive duties.
Wenger recognises Arshavin's genius. It was the reason that he broke from his habits and lavished £15m on an established talent in the middle of a season. He knows that the 29-year-old can stand a game on its head with one explosive burst or incision. Arshavin is an artist, not an artisan.
But when he misfires, as he has done lately, he can be open to criticism. The tipping point came in the 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on 13 December, when he was so dreadful that Wenger resolved to drop him for the next game, at home to Chelsea. Theo Walcott came in, he scored one goal and made another, the team won 3-1 and he has since been Wenger's first choice. Only when the manager rotated wholesale at Wigan Athletic during the busy festive period has Arshavin started a league fixture.
Arshavin's body language is sometimes held up for scrutiny and the conclusions drawn by the armchair psychologists are not always favourable. In some respects, he is of a similar ilk to Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov or Tottenham Hotspur's Roman Pavlyuchenko, Arshavin's compatriot and Harrods shopping partner. When things are not going well, a languid style, rightly or wrongly, is normally the focus of dissatisfaction.
Arshavin has found himself supplanted, in terms of standing at the club, by Samir Nasri, who is in the form of his life and looks a decent bet to sweep the Player of the Year awards. Nasri has arguably become the player that Arshavin was, a sharp and direct creative force yet with greater goal threat, and Wenger might enjoy pointing out that the 23-year-old Frenchman is merely fulfilling the potential that he saw in him, thereby endorsing his general policy on the transfer market.
The present situation does not fit with Arshavin's world view or his thoughts on where he ought to reside therein. Arshavin is famously self-confident and outspoken; this is the man who did not think twice last season about publicising his "dream" of joining Barcelona – even Wenger had to tell him to button it – while a Russian news agency has dined out on bringing his maverick comments from east to west.
Arshavin will not lose faith in his ability. Why should he? And he will always be able to count on Wenger's support. "I think that physically, he was quite sharp at Leeds [in the 3-1 FA Cup replay win last Wednesday], the sharpest I have seen him for a while so he looks to me that he is coming back to a normal level," Wenger said.
"Maybe he lacks a bit of confidence because he plays less but, overall, I think his numbers since the start of the season are good. He has gone through a difficult patch in the last month but now he looks to me that he is on the way up."
It would surprise nobody if Arshavin were to flick the switch against Ipswich and inspire his team towards Wembley. At the same time, though, few would doubt the need for such a performance.
Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 25 Jan 11
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