Diminutive forward Andrei Arshavin made his bow for the Russian senior team on May 17, 2002, but it was too late for him to force his way into the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament in Japan and South Korea. Andrei Arshavin was not a part of the 23-man Russia squad at the tournament which was won by Brazil after beating Germany 2-0 in the final. The Brazilians won a record fifth World Cup title at the tournament and that was their last World Cup win till date.

Arsenal were one of the clubs seriously linked with a move for Andrei Arshavin when he excelled at the Euro 2008 tournament. Arshavin missed the first two games due to injury and he made up for lost time with his performances on his return from suspension at the tournament as he helped Russia to the semi-finals.

The Gunners didn't get their man until the 2009 winter transfer window. Andrei Arshavin joined Arsenal from Zenit Saint Petersburg in his native Russia for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £15m. He was given the number 23 shirt at the Emirates Stadium thus becoming the next recipient of the number after club legend Sol Campbell.

Andrei Arshavin made his debut for Zenit Saint Petersburg as a first half substitute for Andrey Kobelev during the 3-0 away win over English team Bradford City in the Intertoto Cup in 2000. At the start of his Zenit career, Arshavin played in a lot of roles starting from the right midfield. After playing as a right midfielder, he also featured as an attacking midfielder before finally adopting the second striker role either behind the central striker or on a flank.

The petite Andrei Arshavin scored 11 goals and provided 11 assists to guide his Zenit side to the 2007 Russian Premier League title. The Russian international started all 30 games and he had the most assists in the division on the way to the league title win. It was the first league title for Zenit in 23 years. Arshavin was the go-to man for Zenit when they won the title.

AndreiArshavinhad a year to remember in 2008 after he finished sixth in the Ballon d'Or rating for his numerous achievements for the Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Russian Premier League and the Russian national team.

Arshavin was one of the main actors when Zenit win the Russian Premier League title in 2007. In 2008, Andrei Arshavin was part of the Zenit team who won three titles namely the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the Russian Super Cup.

In the 2008 Russian Super Cup, Andrei Arshavin scored the opener in the first half as Zenit beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1 to emerge as champions.Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the second and winning goal of the game for Zenit, while Rodolfo scored the lone goal for Lokomotiv either side of the Zenit goals.

Andrei Arshavin has named ex-Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas as his best mate. Arshavin made this known in an exclusive interview with the official website earlier this year. According to him, Spanish midfielder Fabregas can deliver the ball from one point to another with precision and at the perfect timing.

Ex-Arsenal and Zenit Saint Petersburg playmaker Andrei Arshavin has stated that new Paris Saint Germain (PSG) signing Lionel Messi is the best player in the world. He made this known during an interview with the official website of European football's governing body, UEFA. According to Andrei Arshavin, Messi is also the best player in the whole history of football.

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Arsenal are one of the club's that signed more than four players this summer transfer window and even though they splashed the cash to sign as many as five new faces Thai summer, their former player, Andre Arshavin has revealed that he is not satisfied with the signings that the Gunners made.

The north London club signed at least a player for almost every department and position in the squad in a bid to continue their rebuild of the team under manager Mikel Arteta. After already completing deals for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, defenders Ben White and Nuno Tavares from Brighton and Hove Albion and Benfica respectively, they also signed midfielder Sambi Lokonga.

Of the top clubs in the English Premier League, Arsenal are the ones who have been graded as the least likely to win the league tutor this season and that's not because they don't have players that can help them do so but because a lot of people believe that those players are not quite ready yet.

The Gunners are currently going under some big restructuring following their latest transfer businesses as manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that he is reason to bank majorly on young players and will only have senior players in the team just so he can mix youth with experience. Arteta is reportedly fed up with the senior players at the club who have gone terribly out of form so much that they were beginning to affect the team's performances.

Even though it continues to be a difficult and frustrating summer transfer window for English Premier League club Arsenal, their former player Andrei Arshavin has urged them to make as many as 5 different signings if they are to prove that they are ready to climb back up the ladder of success. It's no longer news that the Gunners have had a share of ill luck in the last couple of years and have not been getting the best of results not just on the pitch, but off it, including the transfer windows.

The quest for Premier League club Arsenal to start signing a couple of players is still on but the Gunners do have a huge challenge in their attempt to attract the kind of players they really want to sign. While the London club have continued to scout the transfer market for such players, they will likely not be seen as a fascinating destination by players because they currently cannot offer European football.