The Russia international playmaker came close to joining the Catalan giants from Zenit St Petersburg in July 2008, before moving to the Emirates Stadium the following January. Arshavin limped out of the first leg of Arsenal's 6-3 aggregate defeat by Barca in the Champions League quarter-finals at the end of March after suffering a calf injury from which he is still to recover. He believes the opportunity to join Pep Guardiola's defending European champions would be too good to turn down, even though they wrecked the Gunners' dreams of continental glory. "Even playing just one season for Barcelona would make a pinnacle of my whole career," Arshavin told Sport-Express newspaper. "Barca are the best team in the world and I enjoy their style of play so much. But after watching them against Arsenal, the enjoyment has quickly turned into sorrow. "They are so much better than anybody else at the moment." Barca are facing a fight to defend their trophy, having suffered a 3-1 defeat away to Inter Milan in the first leg of their semi-final, a result which Arshavin believes was down to the Italian giants' manager. He said: "It's all (Jose) Mourinho's magic. He is a genius. "I think there are three coaches who are the best in the world - (England manager) Fabio Capello, Jose Mourinho and (former Russia manager) Guus Hiddink. If I would pick a coach for the Russian national team, I'd want one of them to be our boss. "(Arsenal manager) Arsene Wenger is also a good coach but not for Russia."
