‘I’m doing everything right, enjoying myself’: Arsen Zakharyan hailed as Russia’s best young athlete of 2023

Arsen Zakharyan, midfielder of the Russian national team and Spanish Real Sociedad, has been recognized as Russia’s best young athlete of 2023 according to RIA Novosti Sport. 

He told RIA about his days in Spain, why he was called up to the Russian national team, and why he became loved by Basque fans.

Among other things, he answered the question about how Spanish football differs from Russian.

“I don’t want to compare. It’s just that when you change teams, it gets hard—language, life, everything is different. But it’s hard at first; now everything is a pleasure. Now I’m enjoying myself there. People there live for football. Any adult on the street can recognize you, even though you may think that they are not really into football. Every match gathers 30–35 thousand people at the stadium. It’s a big difference,” Zakharyan said.