Andrey Arshavin believes Arsenal can put their rocky start behind them now their new signings have had time to settle in.
Russian warns to wait until end of season before judging Arsenal
Andrey Arshavin believes Arsenal can put their rocky start to the season behind them and push on now their new signings have had time to settle in.
After a woeful start to the Premier League which saw the Gunners win just one of their opening five games, Arsene Wenger's men have begun to find their feet in recent weeks.
Arsenal have won four of their last five league encounters, as well as staying on course to reach the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League.
New signings
Attacking midfielder Arshavin believes the North Londoners needed time to gel as a team after a raft of departures and new signings in the summer.
And the Russian says he endured tougher times at former club Zenit St Petersburg, but still managed to come out on top.
"I've had much worse starts to be honest - at Zenit we once lost three or four games in a row right at the beginning," Arshavin told Arsenal's
official website.
"But normally when my teams start badly we end up being happy with how things have ended up, so I'm hoping that pattern continues this time.
"Most of all I think we were missing players - in terms of new faces coming in and establishing a settled side.
"That was rectified within weeks as our signings have come in and spent time here, we've benefited - and we'll see exactly how good our squad is at the end of the season."
Arsenal could book a spot in the last 16 of the Champions League after just four group games if they beat Marseille at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Gunners, currently top of Group F, edged a win over the Ligue 1 giants in France last time out and Arshavin is hoping for another good result.
Solid
"We have to build on our result from two weeks ago," he said.
"We were disciplined in France and very solid defensively, which meant we could take our chance to win when it came.
"Now we top the group, and have a good opportunity to qualify for the knockout rounds today."
