Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin says he was only ever
going to join the Gunners, not Tottenham.
The Russian international was linked with a summer move to both
Spurs and Barcelona after starring in his country's run to the Euro
2008 semi-finals.
However, a move to either club never materialised - despite
Spurs lodging a £16 million bid that was rejected - with Arsene
Wenger eventually bagging the highly-rated Zenit St Petersburg
playmaker at the end of the winter transfer window for £15
million.
And in an exclusive interview in the latest issue of
FourFourTwo magazine, out now, the Russian reveals all
about the long-running transfer saga.
“I don’t want to make comparisons between these two teams [Spurs
and Arsenal] but clearly it was preordained from above that I
should end up at Arsenal,” he says.
“It was a hard day [transfer deadline day] – physically and
mentally. I was on the go from 8am, and I only managed to grab
something to eat at 10pm.
"I only believed the deal was done at the moment I put my
signature on the contract. That was about 16.57 or 16.58 London
time [minutes before the window closed].”
The 27-year-old Russian is hoping to succeed where many of his
fellow countrymen have failed by joining a Premier League club.
Until recently, English sides had been somewhat wary of buying
players from the former Soviet Union, with question marks hanging
over their ability to adapt to the English game.
High profile arrivals Sergei Rebrov and Andriy Shevchenko, as well
as Alexei Smertin, have all failed to make a sufficient
impact.
And, arguably, the last player from that part of the world to
truly shine in England was Andrei Kanchelskis more than a decade
ago.
However, Arshavin is confident he can adapt his game. “I’m
confident I’ll adapt on the pitch," he says. "It’s a matter of
fitness and understanding the different demands of my coach and
team-mates.
"I'm starting a new life, which means plenty of new challenges.
This is my first time away from my native city. London will be
unfamiliar and take some getting used to. But I don't see anything
bad in that."