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 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmitry Alenin after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
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.
A new face in his position, and Ilja Sokolov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Arsenal Tula 2 have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
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 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Yegor Knyazev 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmitry Alenin after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Mikhail Kozin, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.83
A mark of 7.83 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Alexey Kolyshev 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.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Strogino were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Yegor Knyazev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Ilja Sokolov 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.
7.84, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Arsenal Tula 2 had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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.” Dmitry Alenin, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Yegor Knyazev
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mikhail Kozin did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ilja Sokolov has his answer from Arsenal Tula 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yaroslav Demchenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Konstantin Nechkin has come out of that comparison in the side, and Arsenal Tula 2 have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Knyazev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
17 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Dmitry Alenin was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Arsenal Tula 2 dressing room was either.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ilja Sokolov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Arsenal Tula 2 are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Knyazev 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmitry Alenin after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“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 Tula 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Konstantin Nechkin is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Denis Grigorjev 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yaroslav Demchenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Dmitry Alenin to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Ilja Sokolov
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.
“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 Tula 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yegor Knyazev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Denis Grigorjev 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Timur Kim is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Ilja Sokolov is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
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.
“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.
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Yegor Knyazev 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.
17 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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Dmitry Alenin left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Zenit Penza in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mikhail Kozin did not need any: 8.09, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
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 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexey Kolyshev. 3‑1 against Kvant, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 21 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.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Kvant tried to reorganise, Arsenal Tula 2 did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yaroslav Demchenko 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 dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Dmitry Alenin kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikita Karmaev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Karmaev, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Dmitry Alenin to a room that had heard them before.
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.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Timur Kim’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Arsenal Tula 2 needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Successful dribbles: 11. 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.
Nobody at Arsenal Tula 2 is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yegor Knyazev 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Denis Grigorjev is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“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 Tula 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Arsenal Tula 2 than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Timur Kim’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Arsenal Tula 2 needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Arsenal Tula 2, another week without a signature from Boris Parsegov.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Yegor Knyazev 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.
Nikita Karmaev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
16 new faces, and Arsenal Tula 2 are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
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.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Dmitry Alenin chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
“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 Tula 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
He is 21 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 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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 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.
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.
Denis Grigorjev 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Kuzin 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.
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.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Dmitry Alenin chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Danil Pyatibratov keeps the shirt for now, at Arsenal Tula 2's convenience rather than his own.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yaroslav Demchenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Arsenal Tula 2, another week without a signature from Yegor Knyazev.
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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexey Kolyshev and Arsenal Tula 2 agree another 4 years.
6 goals in one match, Artem Arutyunov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Arsenal Tula 2 and Znamya Truda.
Alexey Kolyshev 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.
Znamya Truda left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Timur Kim 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Arsenal Tula 2, another week without a signature from Alexey Kolyshev.
Squad3 Aug 2026
18 new faces, and Arsenal Tula 2 are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 2‑4 defeat, delivered by Dmitry Alenin to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody at Arsenal Tula 2 is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
In brief
Player ratingsHalf an hour was enough for Boris Parsegov