Andrey Arshavin has won the Kazakhstan Player of the Year award as a reward for his impressive performances with Kairat.

The 35-year-old, who also won the club’s Goal of the Season with a fantastic strike against FC Taraz, has settled in well since signing a one-year deal to join them back in March last year.

https://twitter.com/kazakh75/status/813877167465594880

The Russian, who left Arsenal at the end of June 2013, has endured mixed spells since his departure from the Emirates and rumours ran wild about a potential retirement back when he refused to disclose what was next in his footballing future.

With 10 goals and 10 more assists in 32 appearances for Kairat thus far, it’s no surprise that manager Kakhaber Tskhadadze and his backroom staff have decided to extend his contract for a further year as a result of his performances.

Runners-up in their domestic cup, winners in the Super Cup and a second-placed finish in the Kazakhstan Premier League is a decent season for them, especially given their poor early form of three defeats and two draws in the first six matches.

Arshavin will be hoping to replicate his form ahead of the next campaign, with pre-season matches scheduled to start later this month.

If he is influential in the final third, there’s no reason why Kairat cannot challenge Astana for top spot in Kazakhstan next term.