Russia’s captain Andrey Arshavin said Armenia did not surprise them anyhow in the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Yerevan.

According to Arshavin, they played as they planned to do, but lacked sharpness in attacks, as a result of which failed to score a goal.

“One cannot say that Armenia did nothing, expecting us to score a goal or fail to do so. It is a rather competitive and tenacious team. Armenians are well organized and prefer quick counterattacks,” sport-express.ru quoted Arshavin as saying.

According to him, Russia need to minimize mistakes to establish control over the return match in Saint Petersburg. “It will allow us to prevent Armenia from counterattacking. Meanwhile, the control and permanent pressure will definitely result in scored goals,” Arshavin said.