Arsenal, Arshavin asks for more time to be up to speed

Andrey Arshavin admits he needs time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League after making his Arsenal debut in Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Sunderland.

“I am doing everything I can to be fully fit as soon as possible,” The Daily Mail reported he said. “If I played on Saturday in the Russian Premier League, I think I would have been okay but the English Premier League is quicker. So I will have to see how long it takes me to be up to speed.”

“I enjoyed my debut in front of so many spectators but am disappointed we did not get the result,” added Arshavin. “Sunderland played very defensive.”