Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
has confirmed he intends to hand Andrey Arshavin his debut against
Sunderland on Saturday.
Russia international Arshavin completed his transfer to the
Gunners from Zenit St Petersburg earlier this month and has been
working on his fitness in training.
The 27-year-old has not played a competitive match since the end
of the Russian Premier League season in late November, but Wenger
is ready to involve him at Emirates Stadium this weekend.
"He will be involved," Wenger told the club's official
website. "But I have not decided what I will do with him
yet."
The French coach added: "He is still working on preparation and
he is not qualified for the (UEFA Champions League) game against
Roma (on Tuesday) so we can give him another week of hard work.
"At the end of next week, that will be three weeks with us and
one week with Zenit, that should be enough."