Should Arsenal get rid of Arshavin ASAP as this former Gunner claims?

Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes the Gunners must get rid of Andrey Arshavin as soon as possible.

‘He’s not for me.

‘Arsene Wenger trains with them every day and must see something in him that can affect the team though.’

Parlour then went on to speculate whether Arshavin’s apparent disinterest is down to lack of first-team opportunities and or playing time. In any case, the ex-Gunner reckons the sooner the Russian moves on the better for Arsenal FC:

‘Arshavin looks disinterested in playing though. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t get enough chances or he’s not getting enough football.

‘I don’t know what the situation is but the quicker he moves on the better for Arsenal, and probably himself.

‘He’s not playing on a regular basis. He must be frustrated and when he does get his chance he doesn’t really take it.

‘He comes on and he’s not interested in the game. I wouldn’t have put him on but I’m not the manager.’

Parlour is of course referring to Arsene Wenger’s bizarre decision to take off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and replace him for the out-of-favour forward on Sunday, which was heavily booed by the Arsenal faithful. Strangely, but perhaps rightly so, some sections of the crowd were even chanting ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ at Wenger, the man who has transformed the club from head to toe since his arrival back in 1996.

Although I think Arshavin possesses great talent and is a gifted footballer, I am starting to think that his time at Arsenal may finally be up. If he is not playing regularly and is not happy with his current situation then unfortunately there is not point of him being here.

I for one would love to see him rekindle his Arsenal career and prove his critics wrong, but this looks highly unlikely, especially as he is not seen as a starter and only has less than 18 months left to run on his current deal.

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