Andrey Arshavin is an example of how an individual can waste their own immense footballer talent. He is a footballer of immense skill who only recently in 2008 was considered one of the best striker/midfielders in the world. He was knowns as a player whose speed and technical ability could change a game which he demonstrated in a Euro 2008 performance for the ages. In this tournament he led Russia to wins over Sweden and an upset thrashing of the Netherlands.

 

Andrey was wanted by many top European teams and eventually he left his club team, Zenit St. Petersburg for Arsenal. The move became a disaster even though it started off with immense promise. His talent was unmistakable and soon after his arrival he scored four goals in a Premier League game. Unfortunately, Andrey Arshavin did not seem to understand that his success would result in greater attention from opponents and he did not deal with it well.

 

Andrey Arshavin, despite receiving coaching from Arsene Wenger, a man who groomed Thierry Henry into one of the best strikers in the world, did not improve and consistently meet the challenge of competing against the best players on a daily basis. His lack of improvement on the field led to a place on the bench and the displaying of some immature actions such as horrible body language and disengagement from the action for long periods of the game. His comments about how women should not be allowed to drive also indicates a lack of off the field maturity.

 

Andrey Arshavin possessed the talent to be one of the great strikers in the history of Arsenal FC and the Premier League. The story of Andrey Arshavin with Arsenal FC is a lesson to all people young and old that talent alone is not enough to be successful in the game of life. Talent must be conjoined with mental toughness and a mature attitude to be successful footballer in the Premier League.