The main Russian transfer thriller of recent years is in the final stage. Dynamo’s young talent Arsen Zakharyan is close to moving to Europe. For a long time, the midfielder was paired with London Chelsea, but very soon he will be able to sign a contract with the Spanish Real Sociedad. Although, according to various rumors, the Russian could end up this summer at Lazio or Feyenoord.
In an exclusive interview with Sovetskiy Sport, the former coach of the Russian national team and Real Madrid Fabio Capello assessed Arsene’s chances of playing in Spain, compared him to Andrei Arshavin and said whether the Russian passport played a role in the fact that Zakharyan did not leave earlier for Europe.
– Very soon, Arsen Zakharyan will be in the Spanish Royal Society, how did the Russian guess with the team and with the championship, in your opinion?
– It’s fantastic that such a young and talented player plays for Sociedad. He has qualified for the Champions League so it is important to have a good bench when you have to act on two fronts. Zakharyan has been in the public eye for several years, there is much talk about him, I think that in San Sebastián they will give him the opportunity to prove his worth. Spain has a strong and competitive championship, where you can prove yourself.
– When compared to the teams that were interested in him before, namely Chelsea and Borussia, it seems that Sociedad is not so top…
It’s your career, your decision. He chose a good and strong team. When young players move to big clubs like Chelsea, they don’t always get the chance to shine. There are a lot of midfielders at Chelsea now, it would be more difficult to break into the team there.
– Although Andrey Arshavin is the most famous Russian legionnaire in the top 5 European leagues, will Zakharyan be able to reach his level?
– Arshavin was a very good player, but he came to Arsenal when he was older. It is difficult to compare them. Will he be able to reach his level? Why not? It would be great if Arsen could repeat his achievements. But he is still young, he needs a lot, a lot of work.
– Can we say that if Zakharyan had not had a Russian passport, he would have been playing in Europe for a long time?
– I don’t think Arsen couldn’t go to Europe for non-sporting reasons. But I can’t say for sure, he’s in the Society now, so it’s all good. I can wish you good luck.
