Arsenal midfielder Andrei Arshavin has said that he is extremely sorry for the disappointing performance in Russia put in at the Euro 2012. Russia managed to reach the semifinals of the Euro 2008, but they went out of the competition in the group stages after suffering two defeats in the last two group matches. Russia opened the account with a thrilling 4-1 win over Czech Republic.
However, they failed to reproduce the same result in the matches against Greece and Poland. As a result, they have been knocked out of the competition, despite having some of the best players in the world like Andrei Arshavin.
Speaking after the exit from the competition to Arsenal news, the Arsenal midfielder, who is on loan at Russian club Zenit St Petersburg, apologised for the poor performance by Russia in the last two group matches. Andrei Arshavin was one of the impressive players for Russia in the opening win over Czech Republic. Since then, his performance has gone down the hill, and Russia missed out on a chance to face off against a Cesc Fabregas inspired Spain team.
Arshavin also made certain ill advised comments about the Russian national team following the exit from the Euro 2012, which has not gone well with his club owner Gazprom. The Zenit St Petersburg owner has criticised Andrei Arshavin for this attitude to the national team.
"The result has disappointed us and, of course, all our fans. We understand that. s team captain, on behalf of our players and myself personally, I would like to apologise for our performance and the result that we had. It's not right to shy away (from criticism). That's why I took this moment to say something on this subject. I will do it only once and will not talk about this any further," said Arshavin after issuing the apology on the local TV following Russia's elimination from the Euro 2012.