Arsenal cult hero Andrey Arshavin is almost unrecognisable these days and appears to have swapped football for backgammon in a new footage.
In a new YouTube video released by FONBET, the former forward can be seen taking on a three-time Russian champion.
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But this isn’t some career change for Arshavin because he has his UEFA coaching badges and a future in football is very much possible.
No, this is part of his YouTube series with Vladislav Radimov.
Radimov is also an ex-player, who made 33 appearances for Russia.
He represented three of the biggest Russian sides in Zenit St Petersburg, CSKA and Dinamo Moscow as well as a spell with Real Zaragoza.
Well, now he and and Arshavin have a YouTube channel with nearly 100,000 subscribers in which they visit places or take part in whacky challenges.
And Arshavin has undergone a transformation from his time at the Emirates.
The former Russian international can be seen wearing glasses and a traditional hat, while his long hair is gone.
As well as playing backgammon in this episode, Arshavin also took part in a pottery class before showing that he still had it on the pitch later on in the video.
Arshavin’s change
Arshavin joined Arsenal on transfer deadline day from Zenit in the winter transfer window 2009.
The forward remained in north London until his departure from the club in the summer of 2013.
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He had a mixed time at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, playing 144 times with 31 goals and 45 assists in that time.
Arshavin could play on the left, right or down the middle, and he thrived in moments for the Gunners, but his consistency let him down.
One of his best games came at Anfield as he scored four goals in a 4-4 draw against Liverpool.
From there, he had two full seasons as Arsenal’s regular starter on the left wing contributing goals and assists.
But with the arrival of other players, Arshavin went back to Zenit on loan before departing the Gunners permanently in the summer of 2013.
There he returned to Zenit on a free, and he is currently working as an executive for the club he made nearly 400 appearances for.
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Once he left, Arshavin commented on Wenger and Arsenal regularly suggesting that the club hadn’t made enough changes and that was why they ended up stagnating.
Speaking about the Gunners during the 2015/16 season, he said: “It’s a conservative club.
“Over the last few years Arsenal have bought two world-class players in Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, while the goalkeeper Petr Cech has also joined. Apart from that, there have not been any major changes.
“Arsenal have had the same head coach for a long time and he has his ideas. The whole team depends on the viewpoint of Arsene Wenger and his views towards football. I don’t know if this conservatism is a hindrance.
“This season Arsenal had every chance to become champions given the squad they have. All their main rivals, Chelsea, Manchester United and even Manchester City have not been looking bright.
“Everyone was saying that the Gunners would be battling it out for the title, but as you can see there is no comparison to Leicester this season. It is very likely that they will be crowned champions.”
