MOSCOW, January 27 (RIA Novosti) - Zenit St.
Petersburg said on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached
with Arsenal on a transfer fee for Andrei Arshavin, but that
the player's demands were holding up the conclusion of the deal.
Arsenal had set a deadline of January 26 for the
conclusion of talks on a deal to bring the 27-year-old forward
to London, and a statement on Zenit's official website
indicated that the clubs had at last reached a common position.
"Talks between FC Zenit and London's Arsenal are
continuing," the statement read. "The clubs have reached a
basic agreement on the transfer of the player on terms
acceptable to both sides and that meet the real market price of
the player."
"The main obstacle to the realization of the deal has
become Andrei Arshavin's personal requirements. The player and
his agent have demanded from the London club wages that Arsenal
are unwilling to pay," the statement went on.
The statement also said that Arsenal would only agree to
pay Arshavin the reported $150,000 a week he earns in St
Petersburg if the transfer fee was lowered. Zenit also
suggested that Arshavin could pay the club compensation for the
termination of his four-year contract, signed in 2006. Arshavin
was paid 5 million euros when he signed a new contract with
Zenit, and the Russian club has proposed that he return half of
this sum.
Arshavin was linked with a number of clubs, including
Barcelona and Tottenham, in the summer after leading Russia to
the semifinals of Euro 2008. However, Gazprom-controlled Zenit
subsequently turned down a number of offers, reportedly in
excess of $30 million, for the player as "too low." They have
since dropped their asking price, and reports suggest that the
sum agreed on with Arsenal is around $24 million.
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