Arzhanov was a keen basketball and football player, and took up athletics only in 1965, yet by 1968 he was selected for the Soviet national team. At the 1968 Olympics, he reached the semifinals, and next year finished fourth at the 1969 European Championships. He won gold medals at the 1970 European Indoor Championships with a time of 1:51.0, 1971 European Indoor Championships (1:48.7), 1971 European Championships (1:45.6) and 1973 Summer Universiade (1:46.9).