Marked for Denis Polyakov
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Yatskevich is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ernest Selskiy, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Vadim Tkachenko has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market22 Feb 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Feb 2027
Denis Polyakov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Yatskevich is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Artem Makavchik, and the manager let it.
Market15 Feb 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Daniil Astapenkov has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market15 Feb 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, another week without a signature from Ernest Selskiy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Feb 2027
Denis Polyakov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Yuriy Lovets falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Denis Polyakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Yatskevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Nikita Kaplenko
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Vasilyuchek trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Arsenal Dzerzhinsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vadim Tkachenko, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ernest Selskiy is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Vadim Tkachenko is on it.
Market25 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Artem Makavchik has written the date down.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
Yuriy Lovets breaks a bone — 19 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Denis Polyakov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Dmitriy Galuza falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sergey Sazonchik trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market18 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Yuriy Lovets out for 26 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Denis Polyakov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Yatskevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market11 Jan 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sergei Stasevich has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market11 Jan 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, another week without a signature from Dmitriy Galuza.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Sergey Sazonchik asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
Yuriy Lovets breaks a bone — 33 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Denis Polyakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market4 Jan 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ivan Tolkachev has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Ernest Selskiy falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Dmitriy Lutik
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Yuriy Lovets out for 40 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Galuza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Vadim Tkachenko is on it.
Market28 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Yuriy Lovets out for 47 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Denis Polyakov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Yatskevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad21 Dec 2026
No place for Dmitriy Galuza in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Arsenal Dzerzhinsk are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Market21 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
The arithmetic ran out, and everybody could see it coming from a distance. The hard summer starts now, and next season's fixtures will be full of unfamiliar names.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Yuriy Lovets out for 63 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Artem Makavchik
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Vladislav Vasiljev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Andrey Zaleskiy has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Yuriy Lovets out for 70 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Vasiljev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Vadim Tkachenko has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Yuriy Lovets out for 77 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Denis Polyakov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Yatskevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Vadim Tkachenko
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Sergey Sazonchik asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market23 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Yuriy Lovets out for 85 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Dzerzhinsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Dmitriy Lutik: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Arsenal Dzerzhinsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad16 Nov 2026
52 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Vasiljev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Artem Kholyusev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Yuriy Lovets breaks a bone — 93 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market9 Nov 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Maksim Noyok is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Vladislav Vasiljev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market9 Nov 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Valery Matveenkov has his answer from Arsenal Dzerzhinsk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
Yuriy Lovets breaks a bone — 117 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 117 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Vladislav Vasiljev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Renat Nikiforov and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Something was said to Valeriy Gorbachik and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Yatskevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Oct 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Aliaksandr Yablonski is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kirill Martynovich has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sergey Sazonchik, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
16 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Timofey Khomanko has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Arsenal Dzerzhinsk have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Yuriy Lovets falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sergey Sazonchik trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market5 Oct 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
5 appearances at Volna Pinsk and the goals keep coming. Arsenal Dzerzhinsk are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Denis Polyakov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
Slutsk will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Pavel Tseslyukevich has pre-agreed a move to Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Match26 Sep 2026
1‑2 to Vitebsk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Vasiljev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ihar Gordeichuk after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Artem Makavchik
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Arsenal Dzerzhinsk are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Vladislav Yatskevich falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Andrey Zaleskiy
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match19 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Torpedo-BelAZ, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Artem Makavchik dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match5 Sep 2026
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Arsenal Dzerzhinsk are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Arsenal Dzerzhinsk asked and Volna Pinsk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Polyakov, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Vasiljev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.71 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Denis Polyakov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
Arsenal Dzerzhinsk spend $810.0K on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $810.0K for Vladislav Yatskevich, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yuriy Lovets was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Mozyr have kept their man, and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yuriy Lovets, and the manager let it.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match29 Aug 2026
A point taken on 91 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Aug 2026
1‑2 against Torpedo-BelAZ, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Pavel Kotlyarov at 21 — 7.60
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Pavel Kotlyarov did not need any: 7.60, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
$810.0K on the table at BATE. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A move Artem Kholyusev would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Artem Kholyusev is living that version at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, and it tends to show in the first month.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
Orsha will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Ivan Berezun has pre-agreed a move to Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Aug 2026
Renat Nikiforov wins it after the whistle should have gone
120 minutes played. Renat Nikiforov found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Baranovichi went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A brace, and Renat Nikiforov takes the afternoon — 9.09
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Renat Nikiforov provided it, and the 9.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Up for the corner, and Daniil Astapenkov delivers — 7.63
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Daniil Astapenkov scored, was marked 7.63, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Denis Polyakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Yegor Sidorov gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Yegor Sidorov has just signed for Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Brest have kept their man, and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Daniil Astapenkov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 15 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
No thanks: Pavel Sedich rejects the move
Arsenal Dzerzhinsk had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Dnepr Mogilev, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Denis Polyakov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Eduard Hleb is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ruslan Makas is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aliaksandr Hryshyn has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Yan Noyok has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 Aug 2026
Sochi come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Denis Polyakov and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk agree another 2 years.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Mozyr have kept their man, and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match1 Aug 2026
Slavia Mozyr left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Vasiljev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
In brief
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Market
The clock runs on Yuriy Lovets's contract
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Transfer targets
A loan move for Pavel Sedich is in the works