Arsenal in for Arshavin: What the Russian Could Offer the Gunners

This was always going to be a transfer window where Arsenal were going to be linked with players left, right and centre. The latest news about Andrei Arshavin, though, comes from a credible source and it looks as though Arsene Wenger might get his man by the end of January.

Arshavin is a good player, but he is not a replacement for Cesc Fabregas. The Russian is an intelligent player, with very good technical ability—the eye for a pass and also an eye for goal. In Arsene Wenger's books, all that points to him being a winger.

That means that Andrei Arshavin will not be replacing Cesc Fabregas. 

Who might that be then?

Samir Nasri—the Frenchman has been very impressive this season, and in comparison to the first seasons of Tomas Rosicky and Alexander Hleb, Nasri has coped very well with the physical rigours of the Premier League. In fact, his relatively small stature is deceptive and he has a tremendous upper body strength. He also has a very powerful shot and can use either foot. That, coupled with the fact that he played in that position in his former club makes him a natural replacement for the Arsenal captain.

That said, Arsene Wenger spoke about signing a player for long-term benefits and one might wonder where Arshavin fits into the bigger picture. Perhaps Wenger feels that Tomas Rosicky's time is up—the Czech midfielder has been out for more than a year and his return date has been pushed back month after month. 

Maybe Wenger feels that Rosicky might not be able to recover sufficiently from his very troublesome knee injury.

Even so, Arshavin's versatility makes him a trademark Wenger signing. He can play on either wing, or behind the striker. The Russian playmaker might well be the missing piece in Arsenal's jigsaw.

However, when most of the world saw Arshavin play last (in the Euro 2008), he was awesome against Netherlands and almost pedestrian in the next game against Spain. In fact, Arsene Wenger then said that Arshavin might not be ready physically to cope with the demands of the Premier League as he looked so off-colour when he had to play once every three to four days.

Arshavin's sheer determination in wanting to move away from Zenit, though, might well be finally paying dividends. He has been linked with a truckload of clubs and Arsenal fans might wonder—will he do the same thing to us after a couple of seasons?

It's far too early to speculate, but Gunners fans are well aware that their club does treat transfers confidentially. The fact that Zenit have leaked the news about the negotiations would mean that they might want to spark a bidding war among interested parties. 

It gives a sense of deja vu for most of the Arsenal faithful because negotiations are going to drag on for awhile, and that will only remind most people about Samir Nasri's protracted move from Marseille in the summer.

Either way, Andrei Arshavin is a classy player—one with a considerable amount of intelligence on the pitch and one who is reaching the prime of his footballing career.

That can only mean good things for Arsenal if his transfer goes through.