Ex-Arsenal superstar offered career lifeline…in Macedonia

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Former Arsenal playmaker Andrey Arshavin looks set to take a u-turn on his retirement plans by signing for Vardar Skopje.

According to local source Ekipa [as per Goal], the 34-year-old had been considering calling time on his playing career after being released by Kuban Krasnodar during January.

Speaking to Sport Mediaset, the attacker admitted that he was open to offers—and if the right one came along, he might just consider extending his playing career.

“If I get [an offer], I will study it,” he began, “otherwise, I might quit football.”

It looks like that proposal might just have come along, with Sergei Samosenko, the Russian owner of Macedonian giants Skopje, having offered Arshavin a route back into the game.

The forward spent the first decade of his career with Zenit Saint Petersburg, during which time he enjoyed some domestic success, winning the Russian Premier League, Super Cup, League Cup, the Uefa Cup and the Uefa Super Cup.

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His career highlight came in 2008 when he won bronze with Russia at the European Championship.

He was snapped up by Arsenal in 2009, but despite some encouraging early months at the club, he faded from the picture under Wenger, and eventually returned to Zenit—first on loan in 2012, and then permanently a year later.

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