Every Russian move seemed to go through him and, with Roman Pavlyuchenko a willing runner up front, the Swedes were run ragged long before the big striker fired in the opening goal in the 24th minute. Russia really should have been out of sight in the first half and surely would have been if they had not been so intent on walking the ball into the net. It was worrying that they were just 1-0 up at the break and, suspecting that their opponents might be a bit sharper after a dressing-room barracking, the second half promised to be very interesting.
Thankfully, it took Arshavin just five minutes to get the goal his overall play deserved when he finished off a classic countertattack and thereafter it was just a matter of how many the Russkis would score. But again they fannied about when somebody putting his foot through the ball would undoubtedly have given the scoreline a more impressive look. For all the great stuff they've produced in their group games, Holland suddenly don't look such sure-fire certainties to stroll through to the semis. It will be very interesting to check out how the Dutch react if the Russians score first.
Throughout the game in Innsbruck, the ITV commentator went on and on about this being Larsson's final appearance for Sweden. Well, having already made a couple of unscheduled comebacks, I wasn't so sure, especially as he is sitting on 98 caps. Lo and behold, within minutes of the final whistle it was announced that the bold Henrik plans to stay on for a while yet. Clearly porky-pies come easily when you've had seven years of indoctrination at Breezeblock Boulevard!!!
Spain did well to give Greece a goal of a start and, despite resting so many of their first pick players, win 2-1 in Salzburg, matching Croatia and Holland by topping their group with maximum points. They might just benefit from giving their stars a night off, while Italy will be without vital players Rino Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo who are suspended. This is the hardest of the quarter-finals to call and I've a sneaking feeling Italian resilience could see it go all the way to extra-time and penalties.
I'm looking forward to Portugal and Germany getting the knock-out games off to a rousing start and, although I'm only too well aware of how the Germans have a habit of grinding out resuilts on such occasions, the Portuguese look like they have too much flair up front, sure to trouble a very pedestrian defence. Look out for the Portuguese bursting straight out of the traps and threatening to overrun their rivals, then being pegged back as the Germans battle to stage a late fightback.
As I alluded to earlier this week, the clash between Croatia and Turkey promises to be kinda tastey, with a few temperamental characters likely to feature prominently both on and off the ball. Italian referee Roberto Rossetti may well be the most important man on the pitch as events unfold. But he is one of the better refs so I'd expect him to clamp down on any early nonsense, then it will be up to the players to decide if they focus on the game or indulge in personal vendettas. It will be no place for the the sqeamish.
Looking back over my previews, of the 24 games played, I tipped the right result in 13 of them, but have yet to hit a correct score. More significantly, only Turkey's two goals in the last four minutes against the Czech Republic fecked me up for a full house in my forecast for the last eight so maybe I'm not so daft after all...and here is how I reckon the quarter-finals will pan out.
Portugal 2 Germany 1
Croatia 2 Turkey 0
Holland 2 Russia 1
Italy 1 Spain 1 (Italy to win on pens).
Remember where you read it first.
LITTLE BOY BLUE