London calling: Arsenal are hoping to complete the signing
of in-demand Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin for a fee in the
region of £15m this week
Arsenal are confident of
finally agreeing a deal to sign Andrei Arshavin this week,
according to sources close to negotiations.
The club are officially unaware of any revised bid for the Zenit
St Petersburg playmaker, but it is believed the board have
authorised new chief executive Ivan Gazidis to go as high as
£15million for the Russian.
Such a fee would still fall short of Zenit's public valuation of
£18m, but the Russian club are under pressure from Arshavin to
sell, having been told by the player he wants to go and have
already signed £30m Portugal midfielder Danny from Dinamo Moscow as
a replacement.
Arsenal's opening bid may have been as low as £8m, suggesting
that manager Arsene Wenger does not have as much money at his
disposal as previously reported.
Windfalls from the sell-on fees for former players Lassana
Diarra, David Bentley and Fabrice Muamba should have swelled the
kitty, but it seems the Arsenal board have approved bringing
forward cash which was earmarked for the summer transfer
window.
A successful outcome to the Arshavin saga is important not only
for maintaining Arsenal's status as a club capable of attracting
and paying for top talent, but also for Gazidis's credibility as a
transfer negotiator.
That role used to be performed for so long by former
vice-chairman David Dein, a close ally of Wenger who the manager
has missed greatly since his unceremonious departure in 2007.