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C’est la vie - Arshavin learns wrong language
Published: 06 February, 2009, 13:19
Edited: 28 September, 2009, 13:04
Andrey Arshavin
As he prepared for his move to Arsenal in North London, Russian footballer Andrey Arshavin learned English with all his sporty zeal. He never believed his new teammates would be speaking… French.
After signing the contract with Arsenal on Monday, Arshavin returned to his native St Petersburg to pack up and get a working visa for the UK.
Arshavin already stunned journalists by giving confident interviews in English. This contrasts sharply with, let’s say, his former teammate Roman Pavlyuchenko, now playing for rivals Tottenham. He only speaks in his native Russian.
Preparing himself for a move to England’s Premier League, Arshavin diligently studied English all last year.
The problem, as they always do, came from an unexpected direction. At the very first training session, Arshavin discovered that his new club’s principal language is not English but French!
It came out that Arsenal is the only British football club that uses French as a working language. Most of the Arsenal team, including Coach Arsène Wenger, is French.
But it is not that easy to frighten the Russian forward. In an interview to Russian Vesti TV channel, Arshavin said that he is firmly resolved to overcome all the barriers he’ll meet, including the one with the French language.
Arshavin gets UK work permit
Arsenal’s Russian rookie, Andrey Arshavin, was granted a British work permit on Friday and immediately left for London. The 27-year-old is now eligible to play for the Gunner in both the Premiership and the FA cup.
The Russian international could make his debut for Arsenal in a crucial North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Gunners coach Arsene Wenger desperately wanted to see his number 23 on the bench for the game. Aresnal even applied to the Foreign Ministry to expedite the procedure of issuing the visa, which usually takes up to ten days.
Andrey Arshavin’s game on Sunday, however, may be affected by a lack of practice. The last time he played competitive football was two months ago in Zenit’s Champions League match aginst Real Madrid on December 10.
All players with EU nationality are eligible to play in the English Premier League, and players from outside the European Union are able to obtain UK work permits.
In order to obtain one, the footballer must play for his country in at least 75% of its competitive matches during two years preceding the date of the application.
So Arshavin, who is one of the key players in the Russian national team, had no problems getting the visa.
Sunday’s match is attracting huge attention in Russia. If he plays, it will be Arshavin’s first game for a foreign club. And to add to the excitement, he’s be up against another Russian making waves in the Premier League – Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.
03.02.2009, 20:29
Arshavin’s move to Arsenal confirmedRussia most wanted footballer, Andrey Arshavin, has officially become an Arsenal player after English Premier League confirmed the transfer deal on Tuesday. |
09.02.2009, 17:22
Arshavin watches North London derby from the benchAndrey Arshavin was among the substitutes in Sunday’s North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham. But the Russian international remained on the bench and has yet to make his debut in the English Premiership. |
