Peter Odemwingie: Arshavin could play a lot better if he was motivated

West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie, who was born in Russia and played for Lokomotiv Moscow before moving to England, gave his thoughts on the Premier League and why the Russian players find it hard to adapt to the English style.

«English football is unique in being very physical. Purely technical players find it difficult to adjust. In a nutshell, it involves lots of running, tackles and challenges. For example, at West Brom we practice one- or two-touch football, but the Russian players are not used to such fast-paced games, they focus more on technique.»

«It seemed that Zhirkov should have been perfectly suited for England…»

«Zhirkov came to a massive club with a lot of competition for the first-team place. «If he’d chosen a mid-table club, he would have settled a lot better, as he has all the right qualities: talent, pace, good left foot. I also got the impression that Yura is a little shy: if he was more aggressive, he would have played more.»

«So shy players don’t tend to stick around for long in England?»

«No. Football is a man’s game here and you have to be ready to show your character. Even during training players don’t hold back and if you are too slow, you could get injured. You need to be aggressive and hungry for success. I don’t like players who stop once they’ve achieved a certain level of success. Even Arshavin could play a lot better, I reckon, if he motivated himself more. I am not critical of the Russia quartet, but if they gave it their best shot, perhaps, they would have had more success here.»

«And what about Pavel Pogrebnyak, will he succeed at Fulham?»

«I was recently on the same plane as Dixon Etuhu, who plays for the Cottagers, and he was full of praise for the Russian. He said Pogo is useful in the penalty area and a cool finisher. His style suits the Premier League, so everything’s down to his desire to succeed,» the Nigeria international told Sovetsky sport.