Wrong position: Andrey Arshavin is unhappy on the
left wing
Arsenal's
woes deepened today when Andrey Arshavin hit out at Arsene
Wenger for playing him out of position. The Gunners are reeling
after embarrassing home defeats to arch rivals Manchester
United and Chelsea in
the past week.
Wenger's men are now resigned to finishing without a trophy for
the fourth consecutive season. And Arshavin has added to his
manager's troubles by telling Russian media he has been left
'baffled' with being forced to operate on the left wing.
'My personal plan for my initial three months with Arsenal
wasn't about scoring a certain number of goals or making a set
number of assists,' said Arshavin, who arrived in January in a
£15million deal from Zenit St Petersburg.
Hard times: Arsene Wenger
'I wanted to get the feeling whether I can play in
England or not. Sometimes I feel that I can but other times that I
don't. It's probably because that I play as a left
midfielder.
'I still can't get used to the idea that I'm capable of playing
on the left of midfield - and frankly having to do it keeps me
baffled.
'I don't understand if it's only because God is taking care of
me, or I really can play so well as a left-winger.'
Arshavin has also indicated who he would like to be replaced by
in his position - CSKA Moscow star Yuri Zhyrkov, who is
expected to receive an offer from Chelsea in the summer.
'Yes, I know Yuri well,' he added. 'But problem is would he like
to move to Arsenal?'
Arshavin missed Arsenal's shock 4-1 loss against Chelsea
yesterday with flu but he expects to fully recover ahead of
Saturday's daunting trip to Manchester United.