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Andrey Arshavin: Arsenal Need To Buy More Players
The Russian string-puller is adamant that Arsenal need to keep spending if they are to win silverware this season.
Aug 22, 2009 5:31:15 PM
Arsenal attacker Andrey Arshavin has boldly stated that, despite the dazzling array of good results with which they've started the season, the Gunners must continue to strengthen their squad.
Having seen key players such as Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor leave the Emirates, the Russian hitman feels that there is still much work to be done regarding the solidity of Arsenal's squad.
"We shouldn’t set Everton as a benchmark," The Times quotes Arshavin as saying. "We should be looking at the top teams of Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona.
"We should buy first-class players, regardless of their age. We should buy the ones who should improve our game. The top teams have much bigger squads than ours and that is why we have to buy."
The 28-year-old concedes that Arsene Wenger is a shrewd tactician, but feels that, in football, the sheer difference in quality of players can rout any well-laid plans.
"I think football’s similar to chess but a more simple game. Pass and move. Sometimes goal. That’s it," the player went on. "Tactics count but what’s relevant is the quality of the players.
"If everything depended on tactics, the clubs would not be spending so much on stars. An individual can break any system, that’s why star players - like Cristiano Ronaldo - are the key to a particular game."
The playmaker concluded on a lighter note, recalling times as a youngster when his temper got the better of him, and compared himself to other footballing greats who had a tendency to throw tantrums - Zinedine Zidane, Eric Cantona, Diego Maradona.
"[As a child] I was always up in your face and telling you what I think. Once I tore the school register from the wall. I always had arguments with teachers and was expelled," he added.
"Maybe it’s because we want to be noticed everywhere, not just on the field. We want to be the first ones, the best, wherever we are, to stand out."
Stephen Crawford, Goal.com
For more news on England, visit Goal.com's England section
Having seen key players such as Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor leave the Emirates, the Russian hitman feels that there is still much work to be done regarding the solidity of Arsenal's squad.
"We shouldn’t set Everton as a benchmark," The Times quotes Arshavin as saying. "We should be looking at the top teams of Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona.
"We should buy first-class players, regardless of their age. We should buy the ones who should improve our game. The top teams have much bigger squads than ours and that is why we have to buy."
The 28-year-old concedes that Arsene Wenger is a shrewd tactician, but feels that, in football, the sheer difference in quality of players can rout any well-laid plans.
"I think football’s similar to chess but a more simple game. Pass and move. Sometimes goal. That’s it," the player went on. "Tactics count but what’s relevant is the quality of the players.
"If everything depended on tactics, the clubs would not be spending so much on stars. An individual can break any system, that’s why star players - like Cristiano Ronaldo - are the key to a particular game."
The playmaker concluded on a lighter note, recalling times as a youngster when his temper got the better of him, and compared himself to other footballing greats who had a tendency to throw tantrums - Zinedine Zidane, Eric Cantona, Diego Maradona.
"[As a child] I was always up in your face and telling you what I think. Once I tore the school register from the wall. I always had arguments with teachers and was expelled," he added.
"Maybe it’s because we want to be noticed everywhere, not just on the field. We want to be the first ones, the best, wherever we are, to stand out."
Stephen Crawford, Goal.com
For more news on England, visit Goal.com's England section
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