And as well as being unsure about leaving St. Petersburg and disrupting the life of her two children, Yulia Arshavin was also unkeen on the cuisine of her new country of residence, although she now admits she is willing to give London life a go.
“To prevent Andrey’s dream from coming true? It couldn’t even occur to me,” she told the Daily Mail.
“Of course it’s hard to change our life so abruptly having two small kids, but I didn’t have a single moment of doubt that we needed to make this step.
"Andrey is an extraordinary person and that’s probably why I fell in love with him. But to live with such a person is not easy. If he says 'it should be like this' then it should be like he said. There can’t be any compromise.”
The Arshavin family are now together again in the English capital having finally found a new home, with the 27-year-old playmaker having lived in a hotel since completing his £15 million move to North London at the beginning of February.
And having previously been less-than-complimentary about both the people and cuisine in England - calling the British public "too reserved" and the country "dull" - she has since had a change of heart following her husband's scintillating start to his Gunners career.
“I didn’t really say anything bad about London,” she said. “What’s more, I’ve began to like it after I toured around with a Russian-speaking guide who was very good.
“As for food, for a person used to Russian cuisine, it’s difficult to instantly accept another kind. I was brought up on my granny’s pirozhki [Russian pie] and my mother’s soups.
“I haven’t had time yet to appreciate life in London. I’ll know what I feel about it as a place to live later. It will depend upon many simple things: what shops are available nearby, what kind of kindergarten, hairdresser and so on.”
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