Arsenal ace Arshavin: World Cup failure was shock

Arsenal ace Andrey Arshavin admits he was in shock over Russia's World Cup playoff failure.

Russia were dumped on the away goals rule by Slovenia last month.

“It is still difficult for me to say anything [about the World Cup] - I was in shock," Arshavin told the Official Matchday Programme.

"But to be honest, Slovenia deserved the win. We have to stay positive, but that’s easy to say and difficult to do.

"I don’t know why it happened. It would have been easier if we hadn’t conceded late on in Russia, but it’s too late to talk about it really.

“Everyone in Russia believed we would qualify but there we are, it didn’t happen."