Arshavin won 76 caps and scored 16 goals during his international career and set the tournament alight at UEFA Euro 2008 as Russia reached the semi-finals.

That tournament earned admiring glances from clubs across Europe. He spent four and a half seasons with Arsenal before returning to Russia and is now with FC Kairat in the Kazakhstan Premier League.

"I've said it over and over again, if I still played for the national team, if they needed me when I'm 37 years old, it would be a weak team," Arshavin said.

In May, CSKA Moscow's veteran defender Sergey Ignashevich, who turns 39 in July, came out of international retirement to replace injured Rubin Kazan defender Ruslan Kambolov, becoming the oldest player ever capped both for the USSR and Russia.

No return beckons for Arshavin, though, who expressed his hope that Russia would reach the knockout stage at the tournament for the first time in history.

"During my career, they'd always say that Russia are a weak team. We'll see... If the national team makes it into the knockout stage, the whole country will be celebrating," he said.

His dream final in Moscow would see France take on Brazil, in a repeat of the final from 1998. He also had his say on Leroy Sane's omission from the Germany squad.

“My predictions never come true, but I’ll be rooting for the France v Brazil final. There are very many talented young players in the French team. Brazil are also very strong, Neymar can do something special on the pitch,” Arshavin said.

“I don’t follow the German team closely. The only thing that surprised me was that Sane didn’t make it into the final squad. Germany are one of the favorites, they’re always strong, but I’ll be rooting for other teams."