Arsenal FC @ Emirates All Gunner fans fall in

[kiko]

Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein says Arsene Wenger has to make a new signing to stop his side's worrying slide down the table.

The Gunners, five points behind Aston Villa in fifth place, are closing in on a multi-million pound move for Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin.

"Arsenal desperately need to sign a new player," Dein told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme.

"Arsene is the one who can turn water into wine but he needs a bit of help."

He added: "Arguably the team has been punching above its weight."

Despite suffering a string of injuries to key players like Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Eduardo da Silva, Wenger has refused to panic buy in the January transfer window.

The Frenchman remains confident a deal for Arshavin can be completed before Monday's midnight deadline.

And Dein believes the capture of the Russia international will give Arsenal the impetus required to regain their place in the top four.

"They desperately need a little bit of extra creativity, but they are going to have to pay up for him," said Dein.

"When I left, I said there was a danger of slippage. That's what's happening at the present moment and that's got to be contained.

"This season is one of the most delicate, in that they are fighting for their Champions League place.

"The first goal is to get that Champions League place. Five points behind Aston Villa is a mini-mountain to climb but there is talent there and there is resolve. They can do it."

Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit would welcome the addition of Arshavin at the Emirates, but warned the club are lacking seasoned players with experience.

"The club needs to spend a little bit of money to bring some experienced players who can hold the dressing room and be a leader on the pitch," said the Frenchman.

"When I see Arsenal ready to spend £15m on Arshavin, I don't mind, but I would rather spend that kind of money on bringing back (AC Milan's Mathieu) Flamini.

"I would rather spend money buying some defenders and one more goalkeeper. But you need experienced players to win games at the end."

[kiko]

Cesc Fabregas insists he is not looking for a move to Real Madrid and is determined to help Arsenal challenge for major silverware this season. Fabregas has been ruled out for four months with knee ligament damage, and the Spanish giants have been strongly linked with the Arsenal skipper once again.Florentino Perez announced last week that he intends to stand as president at the Bernabeu and it is believed he wants to make the Spanish superstar his first major signing.

But Fabregas, who is currently recuperating on holiday, has made it clear he has no intention of leaving Emirates Stadium.

Fabregas said: "As professional players we accept that there are always going to be rumours, but we only think about the club we are playing for.

"To be mentioned in the newspapers, on the radio and television is good because it means you are doing things right."

[kiko]

Sky Sports News are reporting that Andrei Arshavin is on his way back to Russia after talks between Arsenal, Zenit St Petersburg and the player's representatives broke down with the Gunners reportedly unable to afford the player.

If true, it makes a mockery of the Arsenal board's claim that they always give Arsene Wenger what he wants.

More to the point, it make you wonder exactly what the point of Arsenal mortgaging the club to move to a new stadium where we were supposed to be able to compete financially with Europe's biggest clubs.

We'll keep you posted on any moves on the Arshavin story, but at the moment he is on his way to the airport and he has not undergone a medical, so it looks like us Gooners are going to be left disappointed yet again.

[kiko]

LONDON - Andrei Arshavin, a target of English Premier League side Arsenal, is in London on Monday with Sky Sports News showing pictures of the Russian forward at a snow-bound hotel north of the city.

However, a deal to bring the Russian international to the Emirates Stadium appears unlikely with both parties believed to have been unable to agree terms.

With the transfer window set to shut at 5pm, the Zenit St Petersburg player was reported to have flown in by private jet to circumvent any possible flight cancellations caused by the heaviest snow in southern England for almost 20 years.

Zenit, Arsenal and Arshavin's representatives have been trying to thrash out a deal for weeks, with Zenit claiming a 15 million pound ($21.46 million) fee had been agreed but that progress was stalled by the player's intransigence over his financial demands.

Should the details be ironed out, the 27-year-old Arshavin is in place to complete his medical and sign by the deadline.

[kiko]

Arsenal look like missing out on Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Andrei Arshavin.

The Russia playmaker flew into London by private jet for negotiations.

However, it appears he is unwilling to take the cut in wages Arsenal are offering.

Reports suggest he has now left his London hotel and is waiting for a private jet to take him back to Russia.

[kiko]

The Premier League have told Arsenal that the paperwork for the proposed transfer of Andrei Arshavin will be processed tomorrow after the adverse weather conditions caused havoc with administrative staff at their headquarters.

Arsene Wenger intimated to Sky Sports News this evening that the Arshavin deal would go through with speculation mounting that the 27-year-old has signed a deal until 2012 and will wear the number 13 jersey.

Arshavin has spent the day in North London having arrived from a Zenit St Petersburg training camp in Dubai late last night. The player is understood to have completed a medical and agreed personal terms without any problems although a disagreement over a personal payment owed by Arshavin to Zenit appeared to be a sticking point.

The confusion surrounding the transfer was compounded at 6pm when Zenit spokesman, Alexei Petrov, told Associated Press that, “the deal didn’t happen. Arshavin is coming back to Zenit.”

Neither club have released a statement on their official website although with the deadline for transfers already having passed at 5pm fans of both clubs wait with baited breath for confirmation of the situation.

[kiko]

Theo Walcott is still leading the race to be the first of Arsenal's long-term absentees to return to action.

The England international dislocated his shoulder while on international duty in November but Arsène Wenger revealed that Walcott could get the "green light" for his comeback in four weeks' time.

Arsenal fans will have to wait a little longer to see Tomas Rosicky or Cesc Fabregas. The Czech star has been sidelined by a tendon problem for over a year while Fabregas will not be rushed back despite suggesting in his West Ham programme notes that his recovery from knee ligament damage was ahead of schedule.

“Walcott is the closest because he has four weeks before he sees a specialist again and then he should get the green light," said Wenger.

“Fabregas, I believe, will be six to eight weeks before playing. I can understand his optimism, and we hope [that he will be back quicker] but with a medial knee ligament you have to respect the time.

“For Rosicky, [it will be] eight weeks.”

[kiko]

Andrei Arshavin this evening put pen to paper to become Arsene Wenger's latest player as a day of on-off negotiations ended positively for the Arsenal.

The 27-year-old took the initiative to fly into London yesterday as he wanted to be close to the Arsenal medical centre to make sure he was on hand if Zenit St Petersburg agreed to sell him to the Gunners.

At mid-day it seemed as if the deal had collapsed with Sky Sports News reporting that the midfielder was on his way to a private airfield to fly back to Russia.

It appears that may have been an elaborate smokescreen, however, as at 4 o'clock - just one hour before the transfer deadline - whispers started emerging from The Home Of Football that a deal had been agreed between both clubs, while personal terms had also been approved by Arshavin.

The player also passed a medical, but a major stumbling block was that Zenit insisted that Arshavin make a payment to them - thought to be part of a loyalty bonus he had received from the club.

That situation is unheard of in transfer circles, but with the Arshavin saga having rolled on for 33 days, of course there was going to be some glitch to make us Gooners sweat right up until the final second.

But the player - unlike his new employers - appeared only too willing to get out his cheque book to sever his relationship with the Russian UEFA Cup holders.

So it would appear that Andrei was so keen to become a Gunner that he actually paid a couple of million quid of his own money to secure his dream move.

And with the North London derby looming this weekend and the Spuds having re-signed Robbie Keane from Liverpool just six months after he escaped T*tt*nh*m, let's just hope that Arsene Wenger has found the creative spark that has been so lacking in the Arsenal team of late.

[kiko]

The most protracted transfer of the January window ended, appropriately enough, in further protraction last night with Arsenal awaiting confirmation from the Premier League that they had beaten the 5pm deadline to sign Andrei Arshavin for £15m.

Arsenal were holding off making an official announcement that they had finally, finally got their man following a day in which, time after time, the deal had come agonisingly close to collapse. It was a microcosm of the past month for Arsenal who have persisted in trying to secure Arshavin and have also, on several occasions, considered walking away.

Yesterday the fee, personal terms and medical were all agreed and passed with Arsenal being told there would be no difficulty in securing a work permit for such an experienced international who also captain his country. The final stumbling block for Arshavin was a disagreement with Zenit over whether he was entitled to the full amount of his signing-on fee – thought to be around £2.3m – or whether his club could claim half because they insisted he had pushed for a move and wanted to break the four-year contract he had signed with them.

Last night an agreement was reached over that payment, although it was unclear whether Arshavin had waived his right to the full amount or Zenit who had, in fairness, touted the player for transfer even before last summer's Euro 2008 campaign, had relented. Zenit argued that they dropped their original asking price, of around £20m, substantially to try and facilitate a deal.

Arshavin and his advisers will claim that they did everything possible to push through the transfer having flown into London on Sunday evening and then positioning themselves in a Hertfordshire hotel close to where Arsenal conduct their medicals. Twice yesterday Arshavin was told the deal was dead but hung around, because of the adverse weather as much as anything else, before gradually each of the hurdles preventing a transfer was cleared.

Last night Zenit spokesman Alexei Petrov declared to news agencies in Russia: "The deal didn't happen. Arshavin is coming back to Zenit." But Arsenal sources were remaining far more optimistic even though it was clear the deal was an extremely close-run thing and the deadline may have, technically, been breached.

For Arsenal fans the signing Arshavin, who is expected to take the No 13 shirt vacated by Alexander Hleb when he left last summer, will come as a relief, even if many questioned whether or not they needed a player in his position when there were obvious problems with the make-up of the rest of the squad.

Given that Arshavin has not played a competitive match since the end of the Russian season, before Christmas, and and has been in Dubai undergoing warm weather training with the rest of the Zenit squad, then Wenger may have also had concerns over his fitness. Arshavin did not take part in any of Zenit's three friendly matches during their two-week stay on the basis that he would be securing a transfer during the window.

Arsenal also insist they did not budge on the payment plan – £12m up-front with £3m in instalments – that they had proposed.

[kiko]

Arsenal have finally put an end to one of the most tedious transfer sagas in history by wrapping up a move for Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St. Petersburg for around £10-12 million.

The deal is expected to be confirmed officially later today after the neccessary paperwork was faxed to the Premier League yesterday evening in time for the 5pm deadline. The transfer, (for reasons unknown), couldn’t be processed last night, but it appears that Arshavin passed a medical at Arsenal yesterday, and will wear the number 23 shirt.

Arshavin’s Official website has an update from yesterday with a response about the move to north London. It quotes Arshavin as saying:

“The negotiations [have] come to a close, the details [will be released] tomorrow. Now I can say only one thing - if I play in the “Arsenal”, then [I will have] number 23.”

So Arshavin has been handed the number 23 shirt by the Gunners - the number made vacant by Sol Campbell’s move to Portsmouth three years ago.

As the 5pm Monday transfer deadline approached, hundreds of stories were published - many of which contradicted each other - so it will come as a big relief for Arsenal fans that the deal has finally been completed for the 27-year-old. He has agreed a £70,000-a-week, three-and-a-half year contract at The Emirates.

The Arshavin saga has been going on for weeks, if not months. The image below, a screenshot taken from a news syndication website, demonstrates how confusing last night and indeed the whole transfer window has been for Arsenal fans, with the same sources continuously publishing contradicting stories one after the other:

But it seems that Arsenal have landed their man after weeks of speculation, and it’s news that will be welcomed by Arsenal fans. An official statement is expected later today.

[kiko]

The deal that has at last brought Russian superstar Andrey Arshavin to the Premier League was finally confirmed today, and the agent who acted on Arsenal’s behalf during the complex process of negotiation has spoken about how close the move came to collapsing.

Phil Smith, who works for Arsenal on behalf of First Artist, also revealed that Arshavin, who has himself confirmed via Arsenal that he prefers his first name spelt in English with a ‘y’, was “holed up” in Paris at the weekend, in order to keep him close, but also hidden from the intense media scrutiny.

“Really,” Smith told Sky Sports News earlier,”the thing was we took the decision by ourselves to go to Paris at the weekend, and hole him up there because that was far enough away but close enough as well to be around whilst the clubs were still trying to do a deal.”

Despite such desperate steps, Smith went on to reveal that the deal was close to collapse at a number of junctures, with Zenit St. Petersburg seemingly becoming increasingly desperate to keep hold of the player as the transfer window edged shut, with the agent comparing their reluctance to allow the player to leave with that of “a father losing a daughter.”

“Unfortunately it always looked as though it would go to the wire and it did,” the Arsenal representative continued.

When quizzed as to whether it ever looked likely to stall, Smith was blunt, saying, “Yes.

“It was a difficult negotiation. I understood it from both sides.

“I might have been acting for Arsenal, but to say they were very positive and really tried to make this deal happen is an understatement. They really went beyond the call of duty.

“It was difficult and they ended up paying a fair bit more than what has been stated.”

Smith confirmed that the total value of the transfer was around the £16.95 million mark, as reported by Goal.com earlier, and he also felt that paying such a sum showed that the Gunners were “serious” about adding such a quality player to their squad.

Now the focus of pressure will surely fall on the player himself, as he will now be expected to produce the kind of performances that justify hype of this level.

[kiko]

Russian forward Andrei Arshavin has completed his transfer to Arsenal from Zenit St Petersburg, the English Premier League club said.

The move had been awaiting confirmation from the Premier League after the clubs failed to announce an agreement before the transfer window deadline.

"Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that Russian international Andrei Arshavin has joined the Gunners from Zenit St Petersburg on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee," the club said on its website.

British media said Arshavin, who won the UEFA Cup with Zenit last season and shone in Russia's run to the Euro 2008 semi-finals, had agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract.

Arshavin, who reportedly cost Arsenal around 15 million pounds ($33.3 million), usually plays the role of second striker but can also operate as an attacking midfielder.

He had been linked with several top clubs since lighting up last year's European Championship in Austria and Switzerland with his nifty footwork and had even offered to take a pay cut to play abroad.

Arshavin could make his debut for Arsene Wenger's fifth-placed side in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

[kiko]

New signing Andrei Arshavin has revealed how he likes the style of game Arsenal play and the way Arsene Wenger coaches.

They are two of the main reasons the Russian playmaker has cited for making the move to England.

"I moved because I like the Arsenal style, Wenger as a coach and I like some of their players,” Arshavin said.

"I followed each game and from the moment when I met Arsene Wenger," he added.

"He told me every time I talked to him, he said: "I want you to come to Arsenal. He had confidence in me."

[kiko]

Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that Russian international midfielder, Andrey Arshavin has joined the Gunners from Zenit St. Petersburg on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.

Arshavin, 27, who played a key part in Zenit’s UEFA Cup winning campaign last season, was also a member of the Russian EURO 2008 squad in which he scored two goals from his three appearances, earning him a place in the ‘Team of the Tournament’.

Arshavin won the Russian Premier League with Zenit in 2007, making a total of 232 appearances for his previous club, scoring 51 goals. During his time with Zenit, he was also part of the winning team that picked up the Russian Super Cup in 2008, the Russian Premier League Cup in 2003 and featured in the UEFA Super Cup victory over Manchester United in Monaco last August.

With 41 international caps for Russia, Arshavin has scored a total of 15 goals for his country. His versatility has allowed him to play in a variety of positions; the 2006 Russian Footballer of the Year started his career as a right midfielder, but has since played as an attacking midfielder and more recently has filled the ‘second striker’s’ role.

Manager Arsène Wenger said: “We are delighted to have signed Andrey Arshavin, he is a player I have admired for a long time. He is a versatile player with great experience, who will add real quality to our squad. Andrey is an exciting impact player with a huge amount of ability and has been an influential force with both Zenit St Petersburg and the Russian national team in recent seasons.”

After completing his move to the Gunners, Arshavin said: “I am so happy to be joining Arsenal. They are one of the leading football clubs in the world, with a group of fantastic young players and a great manager. I am looking forward to making the Arsenal supporters happy and helping this great Club win trophies.”

Ivan Gazidis, Chief Executive of Arsenal Football Club added: “Andrey was identified by Arsène as a quality creative player that would add something special to this youthful but talented squad. The Board has always backed the manager with his transfer targets and we are delighted to welcome Andrey to the Club where he will help us to challenge for honours this season.”

Due to his participation in the UEFA Champions League with Zenit St Petersburg this season, Andrey will not be available to play for Arsenal in this competition for the remainder of the 2008/09 season.

Andrey will wear the number 23 shirt.

[kiko]