The little Russian has never hit the heights of his four goal haul against Liverpool.
When Arsenal clinched the signing of Arshavin in January 2009 it was hailed as a breakthrough moment for the club.
Nearly three years on his time at the Emirates is seen as a failure, and he could face the axe in January.
Their failure to win a trophy since 2005 had been blamed on allowing their stars to go, and signing only ‘stars of the future’.
The capture of Andrei Arshavin was an arrival of a bona fide star at his peak, months after his inspired showing for Russia at Euro 2008, when he led his nation to the semi-finals.
Fans saw him as the missing part of the jigsaw, and hopefully a prelude to signing others of his ilk.
He started well enough, scoring four goals at Anfield in an unforgettable 4-4 draw which was supposed to lay down a marker for the future.
Wenger then inexplicably omitted him from the line-up which lost an FA Cup semi-final 2-1 to Chelsea, a decision rightly questioned by the fans.
In the two seasons since, fan patience is running thin.
He has flattered to deceive, often struggling to complete 90 minutes, and goes missing for long periods in games.
Last night’s defeat to Olympiakos was a case in point.
He should have been ‘up for it’ given a chance to silence his critics by inspiring the team to victory, but simply meandered through the motions once again as Arsenal slipped to defeat.
Fans are hard on him only because they had such high expectations, but the spark seems to have gone out of his game.
He is now top on a list which includes Marouane Chamakh, that Gooners are fed up with and want to sell in January.
Wenger no longer regards the Russian as a first choice pick, leaving him on the bench in recent weeks. When he has played he has not done anything to prove his manager wrong.
if Arshavin turns in a months’ worth of performances for the rest of this month like he did last night, and has done so far this season, he is heading straight for the exit door.
– Arsenal fans Is it time to sell Arshavin?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
