Arsenal completed the signing of Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin only minutes before the transfer window slammed shut. Arshavin has signed a deal worth £70,000 a week, which ties him to the Emirates Stadium until 2012.
The Gunners have paid £10m for Arshavin, rising by a further £2m based on success-related clauses being met. Arshavin is said to have been so keen to move to to the Emirates. So keen was Arshavin to complete his move to Arsenal that he hired a private jet to fly him into London on Sunday night.
The Gunners have paid £10m for Arshavin, rising by a further £2m based on success-related clauses being met. Arshavin is said to have been so keen to move to to the Emirates. So keen was Arshavin to complete his move to Arsenal that he hired a private jet to fly him into London on Sunday night.
He has also accepted a £20,000 a week pay cut to join Arsene Wenger's men.
The sticking point in the deal was a huge loyalty bonus received by Arshavin upon signing for Zenit. It was awarded on the understanding that he would complete his four-year contract but having spent a little over two-and-a-half years in St Petersburg the club's board demanded the difference be returned by the player.
The sticking point in the deal was a huge loyalty bonus received by Arshavin upon signing for Zenit. It was awarded on the understanding that he would complete his four-year contract but having spent a little over two-and-a-half years in St Petersburg the club's board demanded the difference be returned by the player.
Zenit spent Monday ringing round Premier League clubs - targeting Tottenham in particular - in a bid to find a buyer who would pay more than Arsenal. But as it seems now, Arsenal won and zenith couldn't get the prohibitve fee they've been looking for and were forced to sell at just 12M pounds compared to the initial 20M they were asking for in the summer.
In order news, Nigeria's Victor Anichebe's move to Hull city is about to be announced. A few teams in the Premiership are awaiting FA confirmation.
So much for a mad tranfer day dealine where Premier League clubs splashed a record £178m in the January transfer window, compared with £146m in 2008, £63m in 2007 and only £35m when this was introduced in 2003. Thism kind of spending spree makes us wonder if there really is a credit crunch. Probably not in the Premier league.
We are expecting Arshavin's tranfer to be announced any moment from now.
