Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin's Poor Form Is Weighing Heavily on Him

Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin has been struggling for form all season and his frustrations have been apparent on the pitch. The Russian has come under much scrutiny and criticism by even the Arsenal faithful; many fans have lost confidence in him.

Although Arsene Wenger has repeatedly come to the press to assure us that he has confidence in Arshavin, he has lost his place in the starting XI.

Arshavin is very aware that he has had a poor start to the season. He told The Sun, "I do not have enough acceleration. From the very start of this season I felt I'm fast enough only in separate episodes.”  

"The reason? I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting old."

Arshavin suggested that lack of confidence is also behind his dip in form. Arshavin does not take the ball confidently, and when he loses it he often looks very discouraged. On top of the discouragement he gets from not playing well, he is put under additional pressure from fans like the ones who booed him during their first match against Leeds in the FA Cup Third Round.

Arshavin has begun to second guess himself.  He added in the Sun: "Now when I get the ball, I begin to think, 'Should I try and trick an opponent? Or if I do, will I lose the ball? And what if I make a pass? Won't they think that I am trying to get rid of the ball?'”

"I am afraid of taking the initiative. When such thoughts appear, your final decision, as a rule, turns out to be wrong. And you waste a lot of opportunities. That was happening to me in recent matches.”

"Unfortunately, there is no button in a human body to switch off unnecessary thoughts. I need to train and play. After a few good performances, the courage and automatic decision-making are going to return."

It can be frustrating, as fans, to watch Arshavin struggle, but fans must understand that he of course finds it even more frustrating. He wants to be performing better but his age and decline in confidence are keeping him performing at his peak.  Arsene keeps telling us about Arshavin’s performances in training, saying that they are a good sign, but he has failed to show us on the pitch. Hopefully all Arshavin needs are a “few good performances” to get back to his best.

For now though, he has been dropped to the bench in favor of young Theo Walcott, and rumors are intensifying that Arshavin might be offloaded next summer after his dramatic dip in form.

About his drop to the bench Arshavin said, "Naturally, I'd like to be on the pitch in every game—but currently the boys who play in my position, Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott, look very good. They're really in good shape and that's why they're playing. I'm not worried too much that I am now becoming part of the second-choice group of players.”

Walcott and Nasri have had successful runs this season and deserve their places in the first team; Arshavin realizes that and knows that he must work hard to get his place back in the starting lineup.

"To get back my place in the starting XI, I need to regain my best form. All I can do is work in training. There are no other recipes for building up your form."

“It’s true that, at the moment, I’m not happy with how I’m playing," he told the Official Matchday Programme. 

"I feel that I’m making mistakes that I shouldn’t be - not giving good passes and losing a lot of balls. It’s hard to give reasons but I am working hard to get back to my best and am confident it will come."

"It’s an unusual situation because I’m not used to being on the bench this much," he said, "I can’t complain when the team is doing this well, though our recent form in the league has been excellent."

Arshavin, like all of us, is not sure exactly what has caused him to lose his pace. He says that he has been trying to keep up his fitness and isn’t doing anything that would slow him down: “Since the start of the season I do not drink even Coke, let alone alcoholic drinks. The coaches make me do special exercises aimed at getting my starting speed faster. I have nothing to reproach myself about. I do not do anything which would distract me from football and interfere with it. ”

The struggling winger admits, "It is just a period I need to come through."

Hopefully he gets through it soon.