Former Manchester United and Russia midfielder Andrey Kanchelskis believes Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin is not physically ready for the English Premier League.

Talking the North London derby game against Tottenham Hotspur as an example, the 41-year old described his compatriot as a “70-minute player”, one who very rarely manages to make an impact in the final part of a game. Kanchelskis explained how the Russian was full of runs and produced assists for his team mates but at the end of the game his impact on the game was not significant enough.

Arshavin, rested by manager Arsene Wenger for yesterday’s Champions League game, was substituted by his manager against Tottenham after playing the full 90 minutes for his country against Belgium.

The 29-year old – who was at the O2 Arena in London on Wednesday for the Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic tennis match – will be hoping to secure a starting line-up place for this weekend’s away game at Villa Park against Aston Villa.

On Arshavin, Kanchelskis said:

Physically, our striker is not ready for British football. Andrey is a 70-minute player.

In the first half [against Spurs] he played very well and played and assist, but in the match as a whole it wasn’t enough.

Arshavin is good up front if he has freedom. But when he plays rigidly and has to cover, it is hard.