He had a breakout performance at UEFA Euro 2008 where he impressed throughout Russia's run to the semi-final of the tournament, and also finished 6th in the 2008 Ballon d’Or.

In 2000, Arshavin was included in the Zenit first-team squad, making his debut in a 3–0 away win over English side Bradford City in the Intertoto Cup,[9] coming on as a first-half substitute for Andrey Kobelev.

[13] In October 2008, Arshavin was nominated for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award, along with 29 others in a list that included compatriot Yuri Zhirkov.

[15] However, interest had already been expressed in January 2008 by Newcastle United boss Sam Allardyce, but he was sacked as manager as the transfer window opened.

[citation needed] During the January 2009 transfer window, Arshavin was persistently pursued by English Premier League club Arsenal.

On 2 February, transfer deadline day, Arshavin was staying in a Hertfordshire hotel, just a few miles from the Arsenal training ground.

By this point, he had agreed personal terms and passed a medical, but a compensation payment by Arshavin himself to Zenit was supposedly holding up the deal.

On 14 March 2009, Arshavin scored his first Arsenal goal in a very tight angle going solo against Blackburn Rovers in the 65th minute of the game.

[30] Arshavin came off the bench to score two goals in Arsenal's 2–1 pre-season victory on 1 August over Atlético Madrid in the Emirates Cup.

Manager Arsène Wenger commented afterward that "[Arshavin] knows how English football works", adding, "He knows as well that now he's part of the team from the start.

He also scored a 30-yard shot against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 29 August 2009, which was his first goal of the season although Arsenal lost the match 2–1.

[32] In early December, Arshavin put in an excellent display against Stoke City, playing in an unfamiliar role as centre-forward left vacant after Robin van Persie's injury.

Arshavin missed one of two games in May due to injury, but scored for the last time of the season against Fulham, in a match which Arsenal won 4–0.

[41] He later scored Arsenal's first goal in a 3–1 midweek Champions League away win against FK Partizan in the 15th minute after a backheel pass by Jack Wilshere.

[43] On 29 December 2010, Arshavin scored a scissor kick volley to bring Arsenal level when they were 1–0 down to Wigan Athletic.

He later made an assist for Nicklas Bendtner to put Arsenal 2–1 up, but after a Sébastien Squillaci own goal, the match ended 2–2.

[47] On 16 February 2011, Arshavin scored as Arsenal beat Barcelona for the first time in their history in a 2–1 win in the Champions League round of 16.

[48] The next day, Arsenal centre back Johan Djourou stated that "Arshavin showed he is a great player," because of his winning goal and his rising performance from his recent dip in form.

On 10 September 2011, Arshavin scored his first goal of the season against Swansea City after a bizarre mistake by goalkeeper Michel Vorm.

After coming on during the second half, Arshavin found space to deliver a cross during injury time, from the left side of the pitch despite being marked by two players.

[53] After intense speculation about joining Anzhi Makhachkala and reuniting with former Russian national team coach Guus Hiddink, Arshavin sealed a loan move to his boyhood club Zenit Saint Petersburg for the remainder of the 2011–12 season, just 40 seconds before the end of the deadline day of the Russian transfer window.

[54] An intention to hold on to a place in Russia's Euro 2012 squad was the reason behind Arshavin's move to Luciano Spalletti's side in Saint Petersburg.

On 3 March, Arshavin made his loan debut for Zenit in an away fixture against CSKA Moscow which ended in a 2–2 draw.

[60] In a total of 21 Russian Premier League appearances in 2013–14, he scored only one more goal, in a 4–0 away win at Rostov on 22 September,[61] and Zenit finished the season as runners-up.

[70] Arshavin debuted for the Russian national team on 17 May 2002, but was overlooked for the Russia squads at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004.

Arshavin was included in Russia's Euro 2008 squad by Guus Hiddink, despite being unable to play in the first two group matches due to suspension.

[72] He announced his return by setting up the first goal and scoring the second in Russia's final group game against Sweden at Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, which helped his team qualify for the next round.

He provided the assist for Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's second goal to seal a 2–1 win over Slovenia in the first leg of the qualification play-offs.

[84] Arshavin participated in the elections on 11 March 2007 as a candidate for deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg from the United Russia party.

[85] On 6 February 2012, Arshavin was one of 499 writers, athletes, scientists, musicians, politicians, actors, and other cultural and technical figures personally chosen and officially registered to participate in debates as "trusted persons" or legal proxies for Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, and to campaign for Putin in the 2012 Russian presidential election.