Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Dennis Lachter, the agent of Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27), has yesterday confirmed to journalists that the player has put an offer by Tottenham on hold while he waits for a new move of Barcelona.
Arshavin would have admitted off the record that he's uncomfortable with the whole situation and doesn't understand very well that Barcelona is not entering real negotiations, despite following him for months and despite Zenit being ready to sit around the table.
Zenit would have accepted the fact that Arshavin will leave this summer and will take into account the wish of the player to join Barcelona. The Russian champions nevertheless expect Barcelona to at least match the 20 million euro° bid made by Tottenham.
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Arshavin first choice for left wing
Looking for a left winger and a centre forward
Arshavin repeats exit wish
Wednesday 30 July 2008
Barcelona will have to move for Arshavin
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17 comments:
20 million euro =
31 million us dollar
16 million british pound
barca need to make up their mind and go for arsharvin or silva. arsharvin is a risk that could be great but could just as easily be awful, as had been said he is a boom or bust player, if he is a bust player we are proper screwed.
silva is proven in la liga and could be a revelation in the LFW role. he wont score as many as ronaldinho did but then messi now fills that role. he is needed to provide width and threat on the left which he will do. if they are around the same price i'd go for silva. he says he is happy at valencia but i think that is just coz he is an old school type player who is loyal to the club he plays for, so he would be loyal to barca if he came. play safe get silva
What do you think Pep, Arshavin or Silva??
take arshavin and end those romour
take arshavin and end those romour
Silva, whatever the arguments for or against his play, is a pipe dream. he doesn't want to leave Valencia and they wouldn't let him go for anything but a ridiculous fee. Arshavin should be an absolute priority for the club to sign; don't let him languish at Spurs until he's too old.
people say Silva is a "safe" choice and Arshavin is a "risk", but i don't see any reason to believe that. Arshavin performed consistently for Zenit over the past few seasons, in a far more restrictive role than he would be playing for us. Silva doesn't have what we need, and what he does have we've already got. he's essentially a nothing buy.
we need to get Arshavin for the left wing, and quick.
I think the reason there is still doubt surrounding Arshavin is that when faced a "decent" defense at the Euro's (Spain, Senna in particular) he virtually dissapeared from the match. He showed no passion, no desire, nothing!
He could have at least started roaming further back, coming to meet the ball and trying to get into the flow of the game like most talented "frustrated" players do. But I didn't see any of that. He was just a lifeless body out there. I can accept good players having subpar games, it happens, players are human after all. But what I can't accept are players who show no "fight" in them!Arshavin had no fight, he looked "defeated" the minute he stepped on the pitch.
So what's going to happen the next time he comes up against Villareal? Is he going to "throw the towel in" again?
I LOVE my club, Barcelona! And to that end I want players who will fight and challenge for the club! Not fold like an accordion under pressure. Say what you will but Arshavin's match against Spain drew a greater audience than the UEFA final he helped win for Zenit. The Euro match WAS to be Arshavin's "defining" moment, and for all intensive purposes he blew it!
It's going too much about this coming-not coming stories. Barca should step forward and land him. He proved his worth whatever we said. To Cojonudo: He didn't blew anything. By your words Holland has "decent" defense?! C'mon, man! He destroyed them, and he was not recuperated 100%. I'm totally understand his frustrations. Barca must react quickly, because he'd go somewhere else.
I'm concerned about Real cabron Madrid. They signed Vaart for only 10M, and they go for Villa--while we still waiting. Of course, we have Keita and Hleb, 2 most stupid signings. Not to mention Henry, Milito...OMG another year without trophies.
with messi going to the olympics, a wager on arshavin could pay off as he could ignite our front line like messi in messi's absence. but again, it is a wager, and a risk.
he ran rings around the Swedish defense too, and i don't think anyone would call them less than decent. nearly all of the Russia players were phased out of the game against Spain. call it superior strategy, call it fatigue, or what have you, but that's a fact. one player can't overcome the opposing team's 72% possession and still put themselves in a place to create chances, particularly not a winger.
we've beaten teams soundly before where we simply dominated the ball and not allowed their players to get into the game. last season we beat Valencia 6-0, that doesn't mean David Silva is a subpar player because he couldn't create more chances. that's why you don't measure a player's ability on the basis of a single game.
It looks like Arshavin's move to White Hart Lane is a mear formality at this point. Barcelona may still be able to make an 11th hour attempt at matching Tottenham's 20mil bid, but that would only make Zenit hold out anticipating a bitter bidding war over him between the clubs as the stakes and price goes even higher. It would be foolish for Barcelona to engage in such a bidding war because Arshavin isn't worth more than 20mil, at least in my estimation.
To say any signing is a "risk" is understated, but in Arshavin's case it's especially true. He is already 27, a late bloomer, and hasn't faced exactly the stiffest compepition in the world. While he did perform quite admirably against Holland he was virtually non existant against Spain.
To use the argument that he was "tired" after the Holland match is rubbish! Great players rise to the occasion! Great players play their best when the spotlight's on them and the whole world's watching. Arshavin's a fine player, but nothing is going to convince me otherwise that he's a "boom or bust" player. Even at 20mil it's a "risk" signing. Anything over that amount is career suicide for Laporta - then again knowing his head is already on the chopping block what does he stand to lose?
To 'BA's' point: "that's why you don't measure a player's ability on the basis of a single game."
I wholeheartedly agree! That would be grossly unfair. BUT you CAN measure a player's heart and resolve, and you can see with your very own eyes wether the player is engaged in the match or if his mind is somewhere else! Arshavin is far from culpable, - none of his teammates decided to show up either. But that's no excuse for not fighting to the bitter end even if it's a lost cause.
Arshavin was undoubedly Russia's "general" on the pitch, and as such he should have led by example. Kick, scream, get in your teammates ear, do SOMETHING!! Show that you care. If Arshavin only had Puyol's "fire" and spirit, then he could be considered a truly GREAT player.
my basic point is simply that we need an actual left winger, not a converted midfielder like Iniesta or Hleb or a totally inexperienced B-teamer like Jeffren. those are our only options right now, and we're set to play a 4-3-3. that's totally insane. Arshavin best fits our needs (pacy, willing to take on defenders, creative, motivated and fit; not to mention the most cheaply priced) out of all the available options, so we should sign him.
Hleb and Keita were stiffening signings; they gave us more depth and strategic possibility, but they weren't necessary. a true left winger, if we're going to play 4-3-3, IS absolutely necessary. and not only do we not as yet have one, but there aren't any realistic options on the horizon beyond this enthusiastic Russian. regardless of how we feel about his eventual potential, we should take him.
I think that today's "friendly" against Fiorentina showed the value of Keita and Hleb. Don't know how many of you got a chance to watch, but Keita and Yaya had the midfield on lockdown. Xavi was free as a bird. It was beautiful to watch.
Arshavin showed strong in UEFA competition and at Euros, though he did indeed disappear against Spain. Perhaps, reasons the team, he is more likely to see that kind of defense: quick with good ball skills week in and week out in La Liga, rather than Holland, the kind of defense a player such as Arshavin can do well against.
This quandary we're in is one reason I was geeked about the Malouda rumor. As a left winger, that guy kicks ass. Chelsea had him screwing around in all kinds of positions, to little effect. He's fast, strong, great first touch and a definite eye for goal. But that never materialized.
Our very specific needs in a left winger rule a lot of players out. We don't need a Ronaldinho clone, but we do need someone with good ball skills who can retain possession in tight quarters. He must have some pace, and a good shot when necessary.
The only thing I can think is that Arshavin has been deemed too strikeresque for our needs. Dunno.
In the Silva vs Arshavin debate, if they're the same price, Silva is 5 years younger. But they won't be the same price. Not even close. Expect another 10 mil atop Arshavin's price for Silva, because he is proven in the Liga.
Iniesta, today against Fiorentina, held the ball to damned long. He might be able to be made into a left winger, but as others have pointed out, he isn't one.
I'm trusting the technical staff on this one. There's a reason they aren't going for a 20 million Arshavin.
Given the options Barcelona have on the table for a left winger (Arshavin or Silva) I'd go for Arshavin, having heard all of your arguments and agreeing with most of them I'd still go for Arshavin. Silva is a great player but if lets say Barcelona place a 30 M bid on him and it got accepted that would start a bidding war that would end up in a ridiculously huge transfer price. Furthermore if I were Valencia and I had to sell Silva I'd much rather sell him to a club not in La Liga and Silva has a vast array of suitors to pick from. Granted Arshavin's transfer is risky much like any unproven player but having seen him in the Uefa cup Semi's against Bayren and in the Finals against Rangers plus his games in the Euro's against Sweeden and the Netherlands he seems like a quality playmaker that we need when you think of how many teams mark our players and stack thier defence one more creative option will make the diference not to mention that he plays a style of football that's well suited to Barca and what makes the proposition of his transfer even more attractive to me is that he has been a Barca fan since his childhood. Imagine a quality player playing for the club of his dreams you can imagine how motivated he would be I believe Barca can strike a deal for him for about 15 M in cash plus 6 or 7 million in incentives based on performances
We dont need him. We have several players who can play on the left wing: Henry,Hleb and Jeffren...also iniesta proved himself on the left wing. Dont spend another 15/20 million on a player we dont need.
I think he's perfect for Barca. Our right side is unstoppable but our left right now is the weak link.
People look at the Spain game and say he's a risk, but at Barca he wouldn't be asked to carry the team like with Russia. But at Barca it would be him on the left and Messi on the right. Double-team one and the other would burn you.
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