“I am Gooner”. These were the famous first words heard by a resolute cluster of Arsenal fans that stood outside Highbury House on a cold February evening waiting to hear whether the club had signed a new star.

After all the right papers were signed and sealed (albeit slightly late) the man responsible for exciting that dedicated group of fans had just become Arsenal’s new number 23. Welcome to Arsenal Andrey Arshavin.

Having signed on what was the most frantic transfer deadline day in recent Arsenal history, hearing the little Russian playmaker utter those three words to the gathering crowd earned him a place in most Gooner’s hearts. His performances after that would certainly cement that place.

The first of his goals came in a 4-0 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers in which Arshavin also grabbed an assist when setting up Emmanuel Eboue. It was later revealed that he did all this whilst playing with an injury that required four stitches in his foot at half time. This was certainly the way to win over the fans. Emmanuel Adebayor take note.

Arshavin then carried on his good form with two goals in a 4-1 victory over Wigan before quite literally taking English football by storm in a performance that will go down in Premier League history. Of course I am talking about the night that saw Liverpool draw 4-4 with Arsenal at Anfield, with Arshavin grabbing all four goals for the Gunners.

Since that famous night, the Russian has scored some stunning goals, rivalled Cesc Fabregas in the assist charts and been guilty of some weird and wonderful comments about the club. However, towards the end of the 2009/2010 season and at the start of this season, Arshavin’s game appears to have changed. In recent weeks, he has stated that he feels he “sparkles” less but is more effective, so this begs the question as to why contract talks with the diminutive midfielder have stalled. Whilst warming my seat in the Clock End this season, I have lost count at the number of times I have seen Arshavin give the ball away, fail to track back and not close the opposition down but then go on to score an important goal or grab an assist.

He has scored five goals in all competitions this season but has often been deployed in the left wing forward role of which sees him as a threat going forward but a liability to Arsenal defensively. I feel that the inconsistency of Gael Clichy in recent months is partly down to the fact that he has no support from his left-winger when it comes to tracking back and preventing a 2-on-1 situation. Arshavin, like so many of Arsenal’s creative players, dreams of playing in the hole behind Chamakh and there is no doubt that this is where the Russian is best. However, Nasri and Rosicky are both fans of this position and appear to show a greater willingness to track back and win the ball should Arsenal lose possession. It’s Arshavin’s reluctance to do this that often sees him take a bit of stick from the fans when it appears that he isn’t pulling his weight and usually sees him substituted in favour of a more willing squad member.

So if these reports are to be believed then it is slightly worrying that we are willing to let the contract of one of our biggest stars run down to the inevitable stage of “we only offer players over 30 a one-year deal”. By the time Andrey’s contract is due to expire he will be 31, so would it not make sense to give him a two-year deal now and avoid all the needless haggling that surely awaits? I for one feel that as frustrating as he can be, Andrey Arshavin is for keeps.

As always Gooners… Victoria Concordia Crescit

(Ed’s note – this piece was submitted at the beginning of the week, although a quick look at Newsnow this morning indicates that the matter may well be being addressed very soon.)