Sergey Semak: There are currently no Russian players, who could strengthen leading European clubs

Veteran Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder Sergey Semak spoke about the return of Andrey Arshavin and the chances of other Russian players moving to Europe in an interview to Sportsdaily.ru.

«What do you make of the Russian players’ mass exodus from Europe – is it a capitulation?»

«No, why? I’ve played in Europe myself, and it is great that our players tried themselves in other countries, it is a useful experience for them, no matter how well they performed. As for their return, the reason is that our league can now offer the same conditions as many of the top European tournaments. If you leave Russia, it’s only for the top clubs in Europe, but there aren’t any players of that level in the RPL at the moment. There are excellent footballers, but no world-class stars.»

«But Arshavin did go to a top English club, didn’t he?»

«A big club, yes, but not a top one. Arsenal haven’t won anything for a while. So you can’t really compare them to the leading clubs in England or Spain. But for Andrey it was a very good experience.»

«Will his return strengthen Zenit?

«It is hard to predict. Arshavin is a brilliant footballer. It is a pity he can’t help us in the Champions League, but we are still playing in other tournaments. We’ll have to wait and see.»