Andrei Arshavin: 6 Reasons Arsenal Need Him Next Season

Arsenal's form may have been indifferent these past few weeks (the Gunners have taken just three points from a possible nine).

Meanwhile, attacking midfielder Andrei Arshavin, on loan with Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg, has been firing on all cylinders.

Playing the full 90 for Zenit on May 2, Arshavin notched his third goal in four matches during a 2-2 draw with Rubin Kazan.

There are two things in that sentence that should jump out at Arsenal fans.

1. Arshavin played a full 90 (!).

2. He is on a scintillating goal-scoring run.

Granted, fans are well accustomed to Arshavin scoring in bunches (see: trip to Anfield in '09), but given the Russian dynamo's difficulties with finding the net in recent seasons—he scored just one goal for Arsenal in 19 league matches this season—the news that he is back to his goal-scoring best could come as a bit of a shock.

Chalk up the reasoning behind this resurgence to whatever source you see fit, but it is widely known that Arshavin thrives in situations in which he feels cool, comfortable and confident.

Let me explain: Arshavin made an immediate impact for Arsenal upon joining in January 2009. Back then, the Gunners were playing a 4-4-2, and the Russian was given far more license to roam in the attacking third, drifting about the central portions as he saw fit.

It worked brilliantly. Arshavin chalked up goals and assists aplenty and he did it in spellbinding fashion.

Since Arsene Wenger shifted to the 4-2-3-1 formation to start the 2009-10 season, resulting in Arshavin being shunted out to the left wing where he has played ever since (with one notable sojourn as Arsenal's center forward in those injury-plagued months to start 2010), he has suffered.

There are any number of reasons why Arshavin simply has not been at his best since the end of 2009, but one major reason behind his indifferent form was Russia's failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

The loss hit Arshavin—who has never played in a World Cup—harder than most. He still managed to score the winner at Anfield just weeks after that, but it was one last gasp for air on an otherwise inexorable plunge underwater.

The other would seem to stem from his not being used in his optimal position. We've seen Wenger start more centrally inclined midfielders on the left wing (Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky), obviously presuming that they would drift more centrally to become involved in the action.

It results in a bit of a lumped formation, but it can work well—as we saw during the first portions of the 2010-11 season, when Nasri was simply sublime.

Arshavin's never hit those same highs.

As his recent form for Zenit—not to mention the all-too-brief snippets where we saw his attacking prowess for Arsenal these past seasons—shows us, however, Arshavin can still contribute to a side.

He just needs to be in a position where his talents are maximized. Which should be the case for any top player.

Just as Lionel Messi is allowed license to roam about the middle of the pitch for Barcelona, Arshavin can flummox defenders with his wile and guile.

He can still do that for Arsenal. In fact, he already has this season.

Here's six reasons why Wenger should keep the Russian for next season.

There's Still Fuel in the Tank

We forget that Arshavin's last on-field contribution this season for Arsenal was a delightful assist for Thierry Henry's winner away to Sunderland on Feb. 11.

Arshavin, like Henry, had just come into the game as a late substitute. But like the Gunners' all-time leading goal scorer, he made an immediate impact.

"Great work from Arshavin...we haven't said that enough this season," said the announcer presiding over the match, almost wistfully.

It is too bad. The Russian collected the ball on the left wing, and as he's done so frequently for Arsenal, began that teasing dribble to lure defenders as he contemplated his next move.

That time it was a cross—a delightful one at that—which hinted at his technical wizardry. Something we've seen far too infrequently for far too long.

When on form, as Arshavin has been for Zenit in recent weeks, there are few attacking players who can rival the breadth of his industrial prowess.

He showed in flashes for Arsenal what he has provided far more consistently at Zenit: he can help a team win.

When given the chance and positional freedom—that's the caveat.

Attacking Midfield Play Has Been Inconsistent

Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky, while excellent in flashes this season, have not enjoyed the types of campaigns that would make them absolute locks to resume the starting attacking midfield role in 2012-13.

Ramsey had his moments in the first portions of the season, and he even played well against Stoke two weeks ago—albeit in a more withdrawn role. Rosicky came out firing in 2012, but has since faded somewhat.

Here's where Arshavin comes into play.

The Russian was sensational in Euro 2008 playing just that role, helping lead his country to a surprise semifinal appearance.

Who's to say that, allowed to operate just behind Arsenal's central striker (i.e. Robin van Persie), Arshavin couldn't rediscover some of the form from that tournament—or even more recently, from his spell with Zenit?

He Is a Proven Performer at the Highest Level

Whether it was that four-goal performance at Anfield, or his one-man wrecking crew of a match against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008, Arshavin has shown he can make a difference on the grandest occasions.

Lest we forget, when he was allowed to play as an attacking midfielder this season for Arsenal—in an Oct. 25 Carling Cup match against Bolton (albeit not the biggest competition in the world), he turned both goalscorer and provider, with one goal and one assist in the 2-1 victory.

Neither Rosicky nor Ramsey have had games this season where they produced a goal and an assist. It's a marker of the Russian's ability that he was able to do just that.

He Comes Without a Transfer Tag

Arsene Wenger has made a habit of referring to players returning from injury as "new transfers," a bit of cleverness that hasn't always sat well with supporters looking for infusions of talent as opposed to tainted returners.

Many of those fans have voiced their desire to see Wenger bring in an attacking mid this summer in the register of a Younes Belhanda or Shinji Kagawa.

Both those players would cost upwards of £10 million—and while Wenger has already shown he is willing to pony up that price (to sign Lukasz Podolski), why splurge on a player who has yet to prove himself in the Premier League when you can welcome one back who has already excelled on numerous occasions.

Arshavin's form has been at the height of irregular for some time now, but his recent displays with Zenit show, as was previously stated, that he can thrive when he feels comfortable.

He did once at Arsenal. Let's see him feel that again.

He Is a Free Man in 2013; Get One More Good Year out of Him

He will be off Zenit's "books" come June 30, but he'll have left them long before that to take part in the European Championships.

Once his campaign in Poland and Ukraine has finished, he'll be back with Arsenal with a contract that expires in 2013.

That gives him one more season to prove himself. And while the prospect of losing him on a Bosman transfer might gall the ever-astute Wenger, we've seen players in Arsenal colors enjoy exceptional seasons in their final contract year (see: Mathieu Flamini).

Arshavin is in his 30s, and is blocking the first-team paths of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ryo Miyaichi on the flanks (should the Russian still be played out there).

But both those teenaged talents require a bit more grooming; they can get it next season while Arshavin enjoys what could be his swan song in London.

If he helps Arsenal capture silverware during that space, what better send off could he ever hope for?

The Euro 2012 Factor

Many club managers in Europe will be watching the championships in Poland and Ukraine with a wary eye, hoping their players do not return unduly fatigued.

We saw it in 2010, when the two World Cup finalists, Spain and Holland, both had players who took some time to recover from the taxing toll of their lengthy tournament.

Then there's the case of Arshavin, who seemed only buoyed by his superb turn in the summer tournament two years prior to 2010.

The Russian was in spectacular form for the 2008-09 season, not to mention the start of the 2009-10 season (up to that crushing defeat that denied Russia a spot in the World Cup).

Who's to say a standout performance in June won't send Arshavin firing into the 2012-13 season with Arsenal on all cylinders?

It's as if his confidence were a fuel gauge—the tournaments providing the sustenance he needed to work his brilliance on a consistent level.

There's some truth to that statement: we've seen just how far down Arshavin can tumble when his mind is not at ease. This is a genius who, like so many in history, is prone to being wrecked by debilitating crises of confidence.

Thus, this summer's tournament takes on added importance.

But should he thrive while with Russia—and his first-round group is not impossible, with the likes of Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic—we might see a return of the man who once captivated us on what seemed a weekly basis.

And in a season that seems destined to promise so much, a reborn Arshavin would be welcome indeed.