Rumours continue to circulate about a January move for Arshavin, although he has rarely been out of the headlines since he originally said he wanted to leave Zenit in the summer, while the player is restating his desire to leave there has so far been no firm moves for him.
Although his agent Dennis Latcher has tried to delay transfer talk until after the competion of the Champions League group phases.
Today in Monaco the draw for the group stages of the Champions League was made, and it couldnt have gone much worse for the Russian club.
UFEA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg have not only drawn Real Madrid in their group but Italian giants Juventus as well.
Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic feels that Zenit St Petersburg star Andrei Arshavin would shine in the Premier League, after labeling him a “seriously good player”.
Although its unlikely the pair will go head to head on Friday in the Super Cup as Arshavin is likely to be withdrawn so ensure he does not get injured, Vidic is looking forward to renewing a rivalry he left behind after leaving Spartak Moscow in January 2006.
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Spartak Moscow have announced that their Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is poised to join Spurs.
“A deal has been agreed between the clubs and the transfer may be concluded by Thursday,” said a club spokesman.
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Contradicting earlier reports that Arshavin deal was off as Spurs didnt meet an agreed deadline to place a bid, Zenit coach Dick Advocaat belives the player will still move to Spurs.
Arshavin caught the eye of several teams after his performance in Euro 2008, however a £20 million valuation and the player having high wage demands only Spurs and possibly Barcelona are still in the hunt for the players signature.
“Last year we sold Martin Skrtel to Liverpool for £10 million, and now probably Arshavin will go to Spurs.” said Advocaat.
Advocaat also added that Arshavin is likely to miss the Super Cup game against Manchester United on the 29th August to avoid him being injured.
However with time running out before the window closes on 1st September it remains to be seen if a deal can still be done.
Konstantin Zyryanov scored a late penalty to help Russia earn a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in a friendly on Wednesday.
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie’s first-half strike gave the visitors a deserved 1-0 lead with the Dutch eager to avenge their defeat by Guus Hiddink’s men in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals two months ago, by putting one past keeper Igor Akinfeyev, with a delicate curling left-footed shot into the top corner from just outside the area in the 25th minute.
The home team fielded an almost identical lineup to that which beat the Netherlands 3-1 in their last meeting during the European Championship in June. The Dutch were missing defender Khalid Boulahrouz and midfielders Wesley Sneijder and Orlando Engelaar through injury as well as goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who retired from the international game after Euro 2008.
The Russians stunned the much-fancied Dutch 3-1 in extra time at the European Championship in June, securing their best showing at a major tournament in Twenty years and a personal victory for Hiddink over his home country.
The Dutch, who recorded a comfortable 4-1 win over Russia in a friendly in Amsterdam in February last year, dominated for much of the lively encounter at Moscow’s Lokomotiv stadium, with van Persie being the most active for the visitors until he was substituted by Ibrahim Afellay midway through the second half.
The Russians lost their top striker Roman Pavlyuchenko to injury late in the first half but escaped with a draw when Zyryanov calmly slotted home from the spot for the equaliser 12 minutes from time after Giovanni van Bronckhorst fouled Dmitry Torbinsky inside the box.
Arshavin was substituted in the 86th minute when Roman Vorobyev took the field.
Dutch substitute Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink wasted a great chance in added time when he was left alone in front of Russia’s goal, but Akinfeyev made a fine save from close range.
Spurs move to sign Andrei Arshavin seem to have faltered as a pre-agreed deadline for the London club to make their move has passed.
A statement on the Zenit St Petersburg website reveals that Tottenham Hotspurs had until Monday August 18th to make an offer. Zenit’s valuation of the player may have been the stumbling block with a £21 million price tag not having been met.
The statement read: “According to agreements, the club from Great Britain had until August 18 to send their proposals. So far these proposals have not been received.
“Given the deadline has expired and the uncertainty of the situation does not allow the club to find a replacement for Andrei Arshavin, Zenit considers the possibility of transferring the player to Tottenham closed.”
Another collection of Andrei clips from YouTube.
With the transfer window closure getting closer by the day, Zenit St Petersburg have been reported to have made English club Spurs a take it leave it offer for the in demand player who is being lined up as a possible replacement for Robbie Keane and considering that Dimitar Berbatov may also soon be leaving White Hart Lane Spurs will need more firepower.
Its reported that Spurs have already agreed personal terms with Arshavin although the club have yet to agree a transfer fee for the player.
Dennis Lachter Andrei Arshavin’s agent believes a deal can still be made, taking to Sky Sports News he said ‘Zenit asked for €25million (£19.7million) for the transfer of Arshavin, this is the last price of the team.’
‘Four days ago in a private meeting with one of the Tottenham representatives, it was take it or leave it, that is the last price.
‘I have got to talk with president of Zenit, Alexander Dukov, if he wants to buy somebody he needs to sell somebody, so he is pushing for Zenit himself to sell Andrei as he understands the contribution of the player.
‘We still have a lot of time and from my experience a lot of deals are finalised close to the end of the window, so we will see.’
Andrei himself has commented on his official website ‘My story continues. For those who are interested, I think we will have a final decision in the coming days.
‘What will it be? That is difficult to answer.’
Spanish club Barcelona are potentially still in the hunt for the signature of Andrei. Barca’s head coach Josep Guardiola is reported to be still interested however Arshavin is only one of many potential new signings going to the Nou Camp.
“There are a lot of interesting players in the market that Barça have the chance to sign. Arshavin is one of them but these things are in the air still,” Guardiola told reporters.
“The team will be competitive whatever happens, I have no doubt about that.”
