Igor Gorbunov

Right Midfielder - Arsenal Tula
30 Jul 2028
Sunday
Process

Marked for Igor Gorbunov

96 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

29 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Luka Marić keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Arsenal Tula may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Igor Gorbunov is not the player he was

It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 33 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.

Squad

Anej Kobal in a row with a teammate

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 Tula this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

No hiding place for Alan Tsaraev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alan Tsaraev, and the manager let it.

Squad

Words at Arsenal Tula training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleg Isaenko 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.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Arsenal Tula

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

The dugout

Timur Melekestsev knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Timur Melekestsev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

Dmitry Yashin is a square peg at Arsenal Tula

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.

Market

Experience through the door at Arsenal Tula

Dmitry Yashin arrives at 35 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.

In brief

Back issues
84 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

6 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Arsenal Tula say no — this time

The offer from Dinamo Moscow for Luka Marić was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Market

Alexandr Mironov hands in a written request

“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 Tula can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Arsenal Tula to lose Ilja Sokolov for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Ilja Sokolov has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.

Squad

A falling-out at Arsenal Tula

Mattéo Ahlinvi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

The step up is real for Artem Isaev

At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Transfer targets

Arsenal Tula rebuffed over Vladimir Pavlov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shinnik have kept their man, and Arsenal Tula go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Igor Gorbunov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Igor Gorbunov commits to Arsenal Tula for another 2 years.

Squad

Dmitry Tsypchenko 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.

Boardroom

Arsenal Tula agree a free transfer for Nikita Shulkin

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.

In brief

81 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Martín Pino agrees terms with CSKA Moscow

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Arsenal Tula people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Squad

Martín Pino in a row with a teammate

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 Tula this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Arsenal Tula make home a hard place to visit

9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.

Market

Mikhail Levashov moves on

Akron pay $140.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Dmitry Tsypchenko 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.

Match

Arsenal Tula find a way past SKA Khabarovsk

SKA Khabarovsk made Arsenal Tula work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The dugout

Anej Kobal gets it from the manager

“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.

Player ratings

Igor Gorbunov stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.77 on the card, and the Arsenal Tula support went home talking about one name.

The dugout

Anatoly Yashin: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.

In brief

75 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Arsenal Tula

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Arsenal Tula is running low.

Squad

A falling-out at Arsenal Tula

Martín Pino and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Loan watch

Erving Botaka-Yoboma has seen enough of Rubin

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Arsenal Tula, and 5 appearances in 20 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

Tigran Avanesyan gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Yaroslav Demchenko is no longer first choice

The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Yaroslav Demchenko 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.

Squad

Words at Arsenal Tula training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikita Karmaev 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.

Squad

Dmitry Tsypchenko makes the team of the month

Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

Anatoly Yashin: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

Player ratings

Mattéo Ahlinvi runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

74 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

27 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A defender's goal wins it for Arsenal Tula — 6.10

1 for Miloš Brnović, marked 6.10, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.

Match

Arsenal Tula make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Arsenal Tula have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

Martín Pino in a row with a teammate

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 Tula this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Igor Gorbunov did the work nobody counts — 6.96

13 combined actions and 6.96. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Artem Lychagin

At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Miloš Brnović

“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.

Match

Miloš Brnović sends Arsenal Tula past Shinnik

It finished 1‑0, and it was Miloš Brnović’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Arsenal Tula.

Squad

Words at Arsenal Tula training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Faccioli 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 dugout

Miloš Brnović is still paying for one afternoon at Arsenal Tula

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

In brief

65 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

25 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Ilja Sokolov

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilja Sokolov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Arsenal Tula the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Arsenal Tula

Mattéo Ahlinvi 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.

Match

Martín Pino the difference as Arsenal Tula beat Tyumen

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Martín Pino. 2‑0 against Tyumen, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The dugout

Dmitry Tsypchenko gets it from the manager

“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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Martín Pino

Marked 8.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

A row about effort at Arsenal Tula

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Faccioli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Anatoly Yashin, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

Player ratings

Igor Gorbunov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 13. 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.

The dugout

Denis Grigorjev does not fit this one

Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.

In brief

19 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Player ratings

Both of them Martín Pino's — 8.46

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.46, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Match

Arsenal Tula make it 4 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Arsenal Tula have 4 straight wins of it.

Squad

Martín Pino in a row with a teammate

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 Tula this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Arsenal Tula

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Faccioli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Arsenal Tula find a way past Chernomorets

Chernomorets made Arsenal Tula work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The dugout

No hiding place for Timur Melekestsev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timur Melekestsev, and the manager let it.

Squad

The month belongs to Dmitry Tsypchenko

The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Arsenal Tula have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Arsenal Tula

Something was said to Emir Faccioli and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Alan Tsaraev's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

In brief

18 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Luka Marić stands alone

9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

The dugout

Kirill Bolshakov keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Arsenal Tula may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

Arsenal Tula cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Squad

Tempers go at Arsenal Tula

Emir Faccioli 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.

Squad

Dmitry Tsypchenko 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.

Match

Arsenal Tula find a way past Ufa

Ufa made Arsenal Tula work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Boardroom

259% of the income goes out in wages at Arsenal Tula

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Dmitry Tsypchenko at his very best

Marked 8.15. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Arsenal Tula.

The dugout

Arsenal Tula keep their word to Alan Tsaraev

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

In brief

17 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Arsenal Tula

Alan Tsaraev 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 dugout

Luka Marić gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Martín Pino sends Arsenal Tula past Chaika

It finished 1‑0, and it was Martín Pino’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Arsenal Tula.

Squad

Words at Arsenal Tula training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Erving Botaka-Yoboma 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.

Player ratings

Igor Gorbunov beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Martín Pino

A mark of 7.82, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

The dugout

Arsenal Tula keep their word to Dmitry Tsypchenko

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

The dugout

Anatoly Yashin has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Anatoly Yashin on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

The dugout

Arsenal Tula pick somebody else ahead of Oleg Isaenko

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief

15 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

3 goals for Dmitry Tsypchenko

The match ball belongs to Dmitry Tsypchenko, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

Mattéo Ahlinvi in a row with a teammate

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 Tula this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Dmitry Tsypchenko

Marked 9.44 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

A row about effort at Arsenal Tula

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Faccioli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Arsenal Tula get the job done against Rotor

A 3‑1 win over Rotor, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Erving Botaka-Yoboma

“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 dugout

Anatoly Yashin has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Anatoly Yashin on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Arsenal Tula

Something was said to David Kobesov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout

Oleg Isaenko is still paying for one afternoon at Arsenal Tula

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

In brief

14 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Arsenal Tula come up short against Fakel

Fakel left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Boardroom

259% of the income goes out in wages at Arsenal Tula

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Miloš Brnović

“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.

Market

Talks stall between Arsenal Tula and Luka Marić

“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.

The dugout

Anatoly Yashin answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

Emir Faccioli is not saying it is over

“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 37 with 2 appearances behind him, and Arsenal Tula have to plan for both answers.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Igor Gorbunov

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Rotor in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

The dugout

Timur Melekestsev 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 dugout

Erving Botaka-Yoboma left out for tactical reasons at Arsenal Tula

The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

In brief

13 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The drought breaks for Arsenal Tula

10 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and KAMAZ were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

The dugout

Roman Izotov keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Arsenal Tula may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

A row about effort at Arsenal Tula

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Faccioli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Arsenal Tula find a way past KAMAZ

KAMAZ made Arsenal Tula work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Igor Gorbunov at his very best

Marked 8.13. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Arsenal Tula.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Tigran Avanesyan

“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 dugout

A satisfied Anatoly Yashin

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Anatoly Yashin could afford to be generous.

Player ratings

Dmitry Tsypchenko was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 13. 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.

Squad

The first one for Martín Pino

Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Arsenal Tula have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.

In brief

12 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Arsenal Tula

10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

The dugout

Timur Zhamaletdinov says Arsenal Tula went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Player ratings

Igor Gorbunov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 23. 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Arsenal Tula

Martín Pino 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.

Squad

Artem Arutyunov is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Tigran Avanesyan wants to go home

“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Arsenal Tula can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.

Squad

A row about effort at Arsenal Tula

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Faccioli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

The goals have deserted Arsenal Tula

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Arsenal Tula can tell you which week it ends in.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Luka Marić

“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.

In brief

10 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

9 matches without a win for Arsenal Tula

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Arsenal Tula are no longer polite ones.

Match

Arsenal Tula out of the cup

Kuban ended it 0‑0. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Squad

Alan Tsaraev in a row with a teammate

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 Tula this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Emir Faccioli 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.

Boardroom

Wages eat 336% of everything Arsenal Tula earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

The terraces

One of their own: Yaroslav Krashevskiy

He is 22 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.

Player ratings

Igor Gorbunov ran the middle of the pitch — 6.86

He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 10 combined actions and a mark of 6.86, and not one of them will make a highlights package.

The dugout

No hiding place for Timur Melekestsev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timur Melekestsev, and the manager let it.

Squad

No place for Emir Faccioli in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Arsenal Tula are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

In brief

9 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Arsenal Tula's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Arsenal Tula has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Words exchanged at Arsenal Tula

Mattéo Ahlinvi 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.

Squad

Words at Arsenal Tula training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Edarlyn Reyes 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Arsenal Tula against Spartak Kostroma

1‑2 to Spartak Kostroma, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

No hiding place for Mattéo Ahlinvi

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mattéo Ahlinvi, and the manager let it.

Boardroom

Inquest at Arsenal Tula

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

The dugout

Anatoly Yashin faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Anatoly Yashin after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

The dugout

Daniil Penchikov is still paying for one afternoon at Arsenal Tula

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

Player ratings

Daniil Penchikov never got going

3.99 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

8 Edition

The Arsenal Tula Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

6 matches without a win for Arsenal Tula

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Arsenal Tula are no longer polite ones.

Match

4 matches without a goal for Arsenal Tula

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Tempers go at Arsenal Tula

Mattéo Ahlinvi 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.

Match

Chelyabinsk take the points off Arsenal Tula

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Kirill Bolshakov

“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.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Arsenal Tula dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

The dugout

Anatoly Yashin answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Igor Gorbunov

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The formation has left Dmitry Tsypchenko behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Arsenal Tula will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

In brief