Arsenal star bans his WAG from criticising England

Andrei Arshavin’s childlike wife Julia didn’t get of to the best of starts on these shores, when she claimed English people were “too reserved”, the food was rubbish and the country was “dull”.

Since these indiscreet comments, the Arsenal star has transformed the nation’s opinion of his Russian WAG. Did he do this by posing for fun family photos in wardrobes? Did he mastermind the kind of PR charm offensive that transformed Cheryl Cole from a toilet attendant-punching racist to the nation’s sweetheart? Nope, he maintained his ‘traditional‘ view of women and demanded that she hush her gums:

“I’ve prohibited her from complaining about life in England. Since then, there have been no more criticisms.”

Spoiler bonus: Here are the Arshavins posing for Russian Hello magazine, and here they are in personal photos the Meerkat-alike posted to his website.

The partner of the Prem’s biggest misogynist

When Andrei Arshavin wheezed his way over to England in January, he brought three things from his Russian homeland: his fierce fashion sense, his passion for pulling sex faces and his ‘wife’, Julia Arshavin.

We say ‘wife’ in inverted commas, as the couple are in fact not married, but the 28-year-old Arsenal star refers to her as his spouse anyway. It’s a bit like us saying Stan Collymore is our ‘friend’ because we follow him on Twitter. Well, we would follow him if he accepted our request. The grumpy so and so.

Arsenal star shows his London lifestyle to the folks back home

After revealing his fancy London pad and fabulous fashion sensibilities via amateur photos on his official website, Andrei Arshavin has taken things a step further by posing for a cover feature in the Russian version of Hello! Magazine.

The Spoiler can’t think of many other footballers who would happily sell pictures of their young children to be put on the front of a glossy magazine, but  things are very different in Russia. They put the letter ‘R’ backwards for one thing. Seriously, they do. It’s mental.

According to our friends at ONTD, Andrei tells Hello! about his nice neighbours and his relative anonymity in London - he and wife Julia can walk around London undisturbed, something that would cause a frenzy in Saint Petersburg.

Arshavin also spills the beans on his love of condensed milk (a dairy affinity he shares with his son) and his friendship with Roman Pavlyuchenko. Fortunately, he manages to restrain himself from letting any more of his trademark overt misogyny slip out.

For more pictures of the babyfaced star, his equally childlike wife and nipper Artyom, click ‘Read More’. Our personal favourite is the charming snap of the family sitting in a wardrobe, wishing they owned a couch… 

An insight into the fascinating private life of an Arsenal star

Ever since Andrei Arshavin joined Arsenal in January, certain questions have plagued football fans: which brand of butter does the Russian prefer? Does his wife own any bright pink velour tracksuits? How do his boots looked when photographed next to a pear?

Thankfully, our prayers have been answered with the release of these pictures, which show the Arsenal midfielder at home with partner-who-he-calls-his-wife-even-though-they’re-not-married Julia and son Artyom.

Lord only knows how or why these pictures got onto the internet, or why there is a distinct lack of Andrei Arshavin sex faces, but you can check out the rest after the jump…