Rovers Hopeful Signings. No1: Andrei Arshavin

With Europe looking unlikely it’s time to look forward to the new season. I hope over the next few weeks I can write a little bit about players who I would like to see come to Ewood, or players who may be coming to Ewood. Jim, feel free to add your’s too, and please comment on players you would like to see too (realistically - some of my own suggestions may be wishful thinking), so that I can perhaps write a little bit about them.

I’ve recently become a big ice hockey fan, and my favourite player has to be Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. This guy is a sporting phenomenen: a sensational player buzzing with skill and excitement, determination and passion, consistency and suprise. He is by far and away the best player on his team, and in the just completed regular season was the top scorer in the NHL by a mile. He essentially took the Capitals to the playoffs singlehandedly and is about as important to his team as is possible - without him there is very little spark or excitement. He is probably the best player in the sport (Sidney who?) - think hockey’s equivilent of Kaka, though less Christian.

I think that Andrei Arshavin has many similarities to Ovechkin. Asides from the obvious case of nationality (indeed both are Russian icons), Arshavin is also by far and away the best player for his team, Zenit St Petersberg. Zenit are in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and are the Russian Champions, thanks in no small part to Arshavin’s 10 goals and 11 assists in 30 games last year. He is an excellent dribbler and most importantly and intelligent player, who knows exactly when to play the killer passes, or to go by himself. Although not a hard worker he is always lively with the ball at his feat - you get the sense that he can do things, even when his teammates are failing (think England vs Russia at Wembley last year - he always looked quite dangerous). It is in this respect that I think he exactly what Rovers need right now (see last article). Yes, the Russian League may make him look better than he is, but his performances in the UEFA Cup have shown how he can stand out against very good opposition.

Arshavin is also flexible - he can play in his preferred attacking midfield role, or he can play on the wings and up front too - this could be a handy incentive for McCarthy and Pedersen to get their backsides in gear. I think he would compliment well the hard working midfielders we already have (think Reid, Vogel, Mokoena) and also be a step up from our current creative players (Dunn, even Bentley).

So is he a realistic signing? There are difficulties - would he want to leave his boyhood club (at which he is captain) and his hometown to come to Lancashire? I don’t know exactly, however the Premier League is in itself becoming a mouth-watering prospect for even the classiest of players (Kaka and David Villa both want to play here). Rovers are a solid team on the verge of European football with a few standout names - we look like we are going places. I don’t see why Zenit would want too much for him either, since transfer fees arn’t so inflated in Russia (except when they buy young South Americans). I think it’s possible, and Sparky may have thought it over.

If the obstacles to a potential transfer could be overcome, I have little doubt he would be a fantastic player for us - our true matchwinner and playmaker, setting up chances for Santa and Benni. His poor workrate I think could easily be made up for by our current midfield players (Bentley and Pedersen have a fair bit of stamina). I would love to see him at Ewood, if it is at all possible - could he be to us what Ovechkin is to Washington?

Category: Misc, Transfer, Transfers

Tags: Arshavin, Misc, Sparky, Transfer, Transfers

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