It was a night Andrei Arshavin had been waiting for. Having missed out on Russia's opening defeat by Spain through suspension, the 27-year-old was eager to help his team-mates gain revenge on Luis Aragones's side and make their first major tournament final since becoming an independent country. Under the constant rain of Vienna, however, Arshavin's dreams were sunk under a solid Spanish second-half performance.
Speculation has been rife not only around Austria and Switzerland, but throughout Europe as to where his future lay. Arshavin returned from a two-game ban against Sweden and hit the target with Russia's second goal in a 2-0 win, following it up with another brilliant showing and a further strike in the 3-1 extra-time triumph over the Netherlands. The FC Zenit St. Petersburg star had reached his zenith, however, as it soon became clear that it wasn't going to be Arshavin's – or Russia's – evening at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. It was a frustrating first half for the playmaker with the Spanish back line well positioned to stifle the creative Russian triumvirate of Konstantin Zyryanov, Ivan Saenko and Arshavin himself. Starting from a slightly deeper position on the left and in support of striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, he was delivering more hand waving and vociferous ordering than creativity as his team struggled to gain a foot-hold in the game.
Straight from the off, Spain's Marcos Senna announced his presence on the pitch by muscling in on the diminutive forward and there would be few battles won in that particular duel for the rest of the evening. On the quarter-hour mark and with the lightning providing a spectacular backdrop, Arshavin showed a flash of his skill when he shook off Carles Puyol with a neat turn and just when it looked like the attacker was away, the FC Barcelona defender snapped back with a challenge that floored his opponent. A clever flicked pass that released Zyryanov in the second period was about as good as it got for the man who had destroyed Dutch dreams.
End of the road
Not long after the restart, Xavi Hernández gave Spain the lead and Arshavin immediately attempted to lift the spirits of his team-mates, urging them on. They failed to respond, conceding extra goals to Daniel Güiza and David Silva which meant Russia had lost by the same margin to Spain as in Innsbruck 16 days ago, when Arshavin was also powerless to the outcome. Coach Guus Hiddink was confident his No10 would bounce back, saying: "After he did well in the Sweden and Holland games after being suspended it was normal that he got a lot of attention. Everyone was writing how he can play in the top, top, top leagues, but the opponent, like Spain, begins to focus on him and that meant they could cause him some difficult moments. It's good for him to have these tough games, to see how he responds as you have to be tough to survive." Arshavin seems to be made of that stuff.
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