An Arsenal icon looked absolutely unrecognisable in a picture taken in Munich last weekend as he savoured the atmosphere around the Champions League final. The former winger was in town to witness Paris Saint-Germain take on Inter Milan in the showpiece match.
The ex-player arrived at the Emirates Stadium at the start of 2009 after starring at Euro 2008. He made an instant impact in north London in a team that included the likes of Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott and bagged a goal and two assists in his fourth Premier League outing against Blackburn as Arsene Wenger watched on.
Wenger was an accomplished operator when it came to sourcing talent, and the early signs were good as the goals kept on flowing.
Another assist followed for the new signing in a league encounter with Newcastle, before the talented ace scored one and made another in a 4-1 victory against Wigan.
Incredibly, the Russia international then put in the performance of his life as he scored all four of Arsenal’s goals in a 4-4 Premier League draw with Liverpool in April 2009, less than three months after he arrived in a £15million deal from Zenit Saint Petersburg.
The player in question is of course Andrey Arshavin, who went on to rack up 31 goals and 45 assists in 144 games for the Gunners.
He spent a short time on loan back at Zenit in 2012 before returning to the Russian club on a free transfer in the summer of 2013 and never got his hands on any silverware during his time in England.
Arshavin retired in 2019 following a spell with Kairat Almaty in the Kazakhstan Premier League and now has an administrative role with Zenit.
He celebrated his 44th birthday at the end of May, and even the most ardent Arsenal fans would be excused for failing to recognise the forward if they were to bump into him any time soon.
Arshavin was snapped in a photo that appeared on Instagram at the weekend as he was pictured alongside two men. One of the men in the photo was former Russia and Hull City manager Leonid Slutsky.
The trio appeared to be enjoying themselves as they drank beer from a stein and sampled delicious food in the German city.
And the action on the pitch would have entertained them as well as PSG treated football fans to a spectacle at the Allianz Arena as they thrashed Inter 5-0 to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time in their history.