Wednesday, 26th September, 2012

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes Russian forward Andrei Arshavin is sometimes wrongly labelled as a player who does not care.

Arshavin has at times been accused of being lazy and not giving his all for the cause, but for Wenger, that is something which could not be further from the truth.

relatedNewsStory And while the Frenchman is not at present handing Arshavin regular first team football for the Gunners, he still retains a deep respect for the 31-year-old.


"I have personally a great respect for Andrei Arshavin because sometimes some wrong ideas are circulated about him – that he doesn’t care, but it’s completely the opposite", Wenger told his club’s official site.

"He’s a 200 per cent professional who works very hard in training every day", he added.

Wenger instead insists that it is the fierce competition for places at the Emirates Stadium which is keeping Arshavin, who spent the second half of last season on loan at former club Zenit St. Petersburg, out of the team.


"At the moment he’s a victim of the high level of competition that exists for places. He has a huge respect from everybody in the dressing room, and especially from the staff.

"I feel he’s unhappy that he doesn’t play because deeply he loves football and he practices every day with 100 per cent commitment."

However, Wenger is set to hand the diminutive Russian playing time this evening against Coventry City in Arsenal’s League Cup clash.

"I’m happy to give him some competition on Wednesday night."

 

   Latest Features:

Follow Inside Futbol on Twitter