Arshavin ponders Arsenal exit

Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin says that he will consider leaving the club if he continues to be ‘glued to the bench’ by manager Arsene Wenger.

The 30 year-old Russian said that Wenger’s ‘unique philosophy’ means that players are substituted regardless of how good their performance is.

“Right now I don’t think about changing clubs. If I will be benched for a very long time, then such an issue might be relevant,” Arshavin told Sport Express.

“I still want to play for 90 minutes, but now I am glued to the bench. I wouldn’t like to play for a Russian club other than Zenit (St Petersburg), and there were no contacts with Anzhi Makhachkala.”

“I still support Barcelona. They are the best team.”

Arshavin recently admitted to being an average signing for the Gunners following his arrival from Zenit in a 15-million-pound move in 2009, despite shining initially.

He describes his manager as a stubborn individual, and believes the Frenchman will only leave when he wants to as he has the full support of the Arsenal board.

“Wenger is a very strict manager. He always gladly helps when there are difficulties off the pitch, but nobody at Arsenal even thinks to talk him into changes when it comes to football issues. The answer is obvious to everyone,” Arshavin said.

“It’s true that Wenger has a unique philosophy. Sometimes you know that you will be replaced at 70 minutes, regardless of how well you play. Sometimes you sit on the bench and know for sure you will enter the game at 65 minutes.”

“Wenger has full support from the board. I think he will leave Arsenal only when he chooses to.”

Arshavin also revealed he was furious at being substituted by the Frenchman during the League Cup final defeat to Birmingham City last season, and blasted the team for losing the match against a side who were eventually relegated to the Championship.

“When we lost in the League Cup final, I thought that you have to be real stupid guys to lose to Birmingham. I was angry when I was substituted in that game,” he added.