“The easiest signature of my career.” Grigory Ladin and Arsenal Tula 2 agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and SKA Khabarovsk 2 were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
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 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Arsenal Tula 2 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Ilja Gruznov 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 Artem Kuzin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Artem Gordeev 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilja Gruznov signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.53 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
4 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.
7 goals in one match, Ilja Gruznov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Arsenal Tula 2 and Kvant.
Mikhail Kozin 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 Jan 2028
Artem Kuzin 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Grigory Ladin, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
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 3‑4 defeat, delivered by Arseny Grigoryev to a room that had heard them before.
Beaten 4 times, with 1 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Kvant in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Danil Pyatibratov signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
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.
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 were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Successful dribbles: 7. 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.
Chances created: 5. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
Mikhail Kozin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Dec 2027
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.
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.
Minute 90, against Orel, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Arseny Grigoryev after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
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.
He is 23 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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Arseny Grigoryev could afford to be generous.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Arsenal Tula 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Artem Gordeev 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.
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.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Arseny Grigoryev to a room that had heard them before.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mikhail Kozin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
5 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.
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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Avangard next, and one man in the Arsenal Tula 2 dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Danil Pyatibratov signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 22 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
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.
Position 11, 15 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
Mikhail Kozin 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 Nov 2027
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.
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.
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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 13 actions, 6.90, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
He is 23 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.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Arsenal Tula 2 will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Arseny Grigoryev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Arsenal Tula 2 dressing room was either.
“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.
Ilja Gruznov 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.
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.
“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.
“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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Arsenal Tula 2 man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Ilja Gruznov was the best thing in any of them.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Arsenal Tula 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
At 23 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikhail Kozin, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Artem Kuzin 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 earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Arseny Grigoryev on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Roman Izotov could not do
Mikhail Kozin 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Ilja Gruznov had Arsenal Tula 2 level again within 4 minutes, and Spartak Tambov never got to play with a lead at all.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Arseny Grigoryev after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“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.
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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Danil Pyatibratov and Arsenal Tula 2 agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
1‑4 to Salyut, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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 were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Danil Pyatibratov has moved up it.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 5 saves does not settle it either way.
Squad4 Oct 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Arsenal Tula 2 man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Ilja Gruznov was the best thing in any of them.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
Player ratingsThe pass was always on for Timur Kim
Mikhail Kozin 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.
A 2‑0 win over Kvant, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
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.” Arseny Grigoryev kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Ilja Gruznov has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Sep 2027
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.
Mikhail Kozin 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.
0‑2 to Ryazan, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
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 0‑2 Arseny Grigoryev left the room before anybody could ask which.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Kvant in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Successful dribbles: 10. 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Ufa moved on, Roman Izotov reports back to Arsenal Tula 2, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Ilja Gruznov 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 Artem Kuzin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Arsenal Tula 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Arsenal Tula 2 has been clear about where Georgy Badjin stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Danil Pyatibratov signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Yaroslav Demchenko 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Gordeev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Ufa had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Zhirayr Ashikyan did not need any: 8.11, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Arsenal Tula 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mikhail Kozin 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.
“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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 1‑2, 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.
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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Arsenal Tula 2 has been clear about where Artem Gordeev stands, which is more than many ever get.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
“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.
4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A brace, and Ilja Sokolov takes the afternoon — 8.55
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ilja Sokolov provided it, and the 8.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Zhirayr Ashikyan 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.
3 goals inside twenty minutes with Ilja Gruznov in the middle of it, and Zenit Penza unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Gordeev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
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.” Arseny Grigoryev, on a 4‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutArtem Gordeev dropped after a run of poor form
Mikhail Kozin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
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.
8 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 are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Artem Gordeev
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 wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Arsenal Tula 2 have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
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.
Zhirayr Ashikyan 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.
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.
A 1‑0 win over Znamya Truda, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Ilja Sokolov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
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 dugout2 Aug 2027
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.” Arseny Grigoryev, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Gordeev 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 dugout26 Jul 2027
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 1‑2 Arseny Grigoryev left the room before anybody could ask which.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Arsenal Tula 2 have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
Player ratingsArtem Gordeev changes it off the bench
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
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.
“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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
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.
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.
8 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.
Georgy Badjin 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 offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Mikhail Kozin 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.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Arsenal Tula 2 would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
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.
“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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Mikhail Kozin 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.
Alexandr Bastrykin 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
8 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.
“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.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
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.
“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.
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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Timur Kim signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Alexey Kolyshev plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
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.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Arsenal Tula 2 know it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
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.
Yaroslav Demchenko 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 Artem Kuzin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutYegor Sidorov knocks on the manager’s door
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yegor Sidorov signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 13 and 23 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 37 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
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 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.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Yegor Sidorov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Arsenal Tula 2 was different afterwards.
Two hours a week with a tutor, which is the least glamorous thing at Arsenal Tula 2 and the one that decides whether a foreign signing is still here in two years.
33Edition
The Arsenal Tula 2 Post
15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondentUneasy
Squad15 Mar 2027
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yegor Sidorov signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Yaroslav Demchenko 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Arsenal Tula 2 know it.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arsenal Tula 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
At 21 he has taken a place rather than been given one, and somebody else has to find something to say about it. Arsenal Tula 2 have a decision that made itself.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Nikita Karmaev 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Arsenal Tula 2 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
0‑1 to SKA Khabarovsk 2, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Feb 2027
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 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yegor Sidorov signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The 88th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Alexey Kolyshev decided nobody was going anywhere. Zenit Penza had no time left to answer.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Zenit Penza were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Three points for Arsenal Tula 2, 3‑2 the final word against Zenit Penza in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Arsenal Tula 2 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.
6 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 hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Alexey Kolyshev did not need any: 7.67, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
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.
A 1‑1 draw with Salyut leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Arseny Grigoryev was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Arsenal Tula 2 dressing room was either.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
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.
5 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.
Nikita Karmaev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Danil Pyatibratov 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.
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.
7.34, 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Arseny Grigoryev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Arsenal Tula 2 dressing room was either.
4 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.
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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yegor Sidorov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Ilja Sokolov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Minute 88, against Ryazan, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Arseny Grigoryev was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Arsenal Tula 2 dressing room was either.
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.
Mikhail Kozin 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.
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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Kuzin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Nikita Karmaev has come out of that comparison in the side, and Arsenal Tula 2 have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
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.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Arseny Grigoryev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
7.84, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
“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.
Squad21 Dec 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.
1 error, one goal, and a night in front of the same three seconds. He will see it tonight, tomorrow and probably in February, and everybody who has played knows exactly which frame he keeps stopping on.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Artem Kuzin'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.
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.
Dinamo St Petersburg arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Denis Grigorjev is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Nikita Karmaev 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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Ilja Sokolov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.10. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Alexey Kolyshev has come out of that comparison in the side, and Arsenal Tula 2 have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Nikita Karmaev 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.
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.
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.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Strogino scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Rodina M will replay every second of the added time for a week.
A mark of 7.70 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexandr Bastrykin. 2‑1 against Rodina M, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
It had gone 5 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Artem Kuzin 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.
Position 13 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
“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.
Squad9 Nov 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.
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Ilja Sokolov'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.
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Arsenal Tula 2 lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Arsenal Tula 2 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
0‑3 to Dinamo Bryansk, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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 were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Tula 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
14 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Yegor Knyazev
The dugoutNikita Karmaev asks for a word with the manager
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Arsenal Tula 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 13 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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.
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.
Marked 8.24. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Arsenal Tula 2.
Squad19 Oct 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Chances created: 8. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Arsenal Tula 2 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Nikita Karmaev 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yegor Sidorov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
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.
He is 23 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.
Marked 7.27. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Arseny Grigoryev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Arsenal Tula 2 dressing room was either.
“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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Salyut? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Yegor Sidorov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
15 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.
The dugout28 Sep 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.” Arseny Grigoryev, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Maxim Sergeev is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexey Kolyshev signs something — a contract at Arsenal Tula 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout21 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 Arseny Grigoryev to a room that had heard them before.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Kvant in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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.
At 21 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Arsenal Tula 2 have a decision that made itself.
Arsenal Tula 2 opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Nikita Karmaev stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Arsenal Tula 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nikita Karmaev 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.
A brace, and Ilja Sokolov takes the afternoon — 8.42
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ilja Sokolov provided it, and the 8.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
6 goals in one match, Ilja Sokolov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Arsenal Tula 2 and Metallurg.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Arseny Grigoryev after 2‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Beaten 4 times, 1 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.
A brace, and Yegor Knyazev takes the afternoon — 8.29
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Yegor Knyazev provided it, and the 8.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Yegor Knyazev. 2‑1 against Orel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Artem Gordeev 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.
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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Arseny Grigoryev could afford to be generous.
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.
0‑3 to Dinamo St Petersburg, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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.
“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.
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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nikita Karmaev has his answer from Arsenal Tula 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Yegor Knyazev keeps the shirt for now, at Arsenal Tula 2's convenience rather than his own.
“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 2 can pretend not to have heard.
“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 dugout10 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 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Arseny Grigoryev to a room that had heard them before.
Dinamo St Petersburg arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
“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.
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 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Aug 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.
“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
17 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 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.