Andrei Arshavin has admitted that he was not surprised to be left out of the Russia squad for next week's World Cup qualifiers.
The Arsenal forward has been a mainstay of his national team for over four years but was omitted from new manager Fabio Capello's squad for matches against Israel and Northern Ireland.
Arshavin told Sport Express: "It's logical, really. The agreement is that when I don't play well for my club, I shouldn't expect a place in the national squad.
"The fact I've been omitted did not come as a shock."
The 31-year-old was widely expected to leave North London this summer after spending the second half of last season on loan at Zenit St.Petersburg, but he is still an Arsenal player.
