- Andrey Arshavin posted to celebrate completing his UEFA A Licence on Tuesday
- He was best known among English fans for his spell with Arsenal in 2009-2013
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Fans on social media were all in agreement over the appearance of a former Arsenal star on Tuesday, after he posted to celebrate completing his newest coaching badge.
Andrey Arshavin, who played for Arsenal, Russia and Zenit Saint Petersburg during his storied career in the game, took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to reveal that he had passed his UEFA A Licence, the governing body’s highest practical coaching award available.
Captioning the post with the word ‘Trainer’, Arshavin smiled at the camera while holding his award, sporting blue glasses, jeans and a top.
Soon enough, news of Arshavin’s latest coaching achievement found its way to social media platform X, with a handful of accounts keen to pass on their congratulations.
Fans were left stunned by his youthful appearance, with several supporters claiming he looked younger now than he did during his playing days.
Arshavin, 43, was best known among English supporters for his spell with Arsenal between 2009 and 2013 under Arsene Wenger.
Former Arsenal star Andrey Arshavin posted to celebrate completing his latest coaching badge
Arshavin played for Arsenal between 2009 and 2013, chalking up over 100 appearances
Fans all said the same thing about Arshavin’s appearance, stunned by how young he looks
Amazed by how much his appearance had changed over the last 12 years, one fan said: ‘This brother is ageing backwards.’
A second added: ‘He looks younger now.’
Another chimed in and said: ‘Looks so young for his age.’
A fourth, exaggerating things further, posted: ‘Looks about 15!’
Arsenal fans would be delighted to have the old Arshavin at Mikel Arteta’s disposal between now and the end of the season, with the Spanish manager enduring an availability crisis in attack.
Arteta has been forced to experiment with midfielder Mikel Merino at centre forward in recent weeks following injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, while star wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli remain out with issues of their own.
Two successive league games with scoring — a 1-0 defeat against West Ham followed by Wednesday’s 0-0 stalemate at Nottingham Forest — has seen Arsenal drop 13 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool in the title race.
Arshavin famously dented Liverpool’s title hopes in April 2009 after scoring an astonishing four goals to earn the Gunners a thrilling 4-4 draw at Anfield.
Arsenal are gearing up for a huge clash in the Champions League against Dutch outfit PSV on Tuesday night, as they continue to search for their maiden gong in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
