Andrey Arshavin insists Arsenal can survive the departure of Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City.

He told Sports Weekend: "We lost a very strong player [Adebayor] and bought a good defender [Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax]. At the same time, our team continues to be one of the best in the English Premier League, even despite the fact that Adebayor left.

"If he wanted to leave, then it wasn't necessary to keep him in the team. Especially if the player doesn't want to turn out for us."