Born in the village of Khirsa, then-Soviet Georgia, and a mathematician by education, Arsenishvili has held a high academic position at the Tbilisi State University, his alma mater, where he chaired the Department of Cybernetics and Applied Mathematics for several years.
He entered Georgia's politics as President Eduard Shevardnadze's envoy in Arsenishvili's home region of Kakheti in 1995.
His appointment was widely regarded as a compromise between Lortkipanidze and the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Zurab Zhvania.
[2] From 2001 to 2004, Arsenishvili served as ambassador of Georgia to Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
In 2008 he was elected to the Parliament of Georgia on a United National Movement ticket from a single-mandate constituency of Telavi.