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Arsenal’s Arshavin still dreaming of Barcelona

MOSCOW - Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin, a long-time Barcelona fan, still dreams of playing for the Spanish giants one day, the Russian international has said.

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“Even playing just one season for Barcelona would make a pinnacle of my whole career,” Arshavin, who missed Arsenal’s 6-3 aggregate defeat by Barcelona earlier this month with a calf injury, told Sport-Express newspaper on Tuesday.

“Barca are the best team in the world and I enjoy their style of play so much. But after watching them against Arsenal (in the Champions League quarter-finals) the enjoyment has quickly turned into sorrow.

“They are so much better than anybody else at the moment.”

Asked why Barcelona were beaten 3-1 by Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, Arshavin said: “It’s all (Jose) Mourinho’s magic. He is a genius.

“I think there are three coaches who are the best in the world — (England manager) Fabio Capello, Jose Mourinho and (former Russia manager) Guus Hiddink. If I would pick a coach for the Russian national team, I’d want one of them to be our boss,” he added.

“(Arsenal manager) Arsene Wenger is also a good coach but not for Russia.”

Arshavin, who turns 29 next month, could have easily ended up in the Catalan capital instead of London following his impressive performances at Euro 2008, where he helped Russia to the semi-finals.

Barcelona’s bid for the gifted playmaker was rejected by Zenit St Petersburg in July, 2008, before he joined Arsenal in January last year.