From our sources in Russia it appears as the deal to bring Andrey Arshavin to Arsenal has hit a wall over the transfer fee with both clubs refusing to back down over the price.
“Veniamin” Our inside man in Galernaya who works for Melodia Channel has told www.goonerforum.com that Arsenal made a 3rd offer on Sunday night,£13.5m plus a few performance add on bonus (if Arsenal win the league/Champions league within the next 3 years) that will take the overall Arsenal package to a total of £15m. This was rejected by Zenit as they want £16m plus all agents fees to be payed which would take the deal close to £19m.
However Zenit had told Arsenal that they would accept the Arsenal package “IF” they paid the agents fee of around £3m. Arsenal have so far refused to accept this and have basically said to Zenit, that’s was our final offer, “Take it or leave it”
Zenit have called Arsenals bluff and pulled the plug on talks and the Russian club are now in talks with 2 unnamed clubs. However they have made it clear to Arsenal they the door is open for them to come back in with more to the table and want this deal to be done ASAP!
With regards to the player. Well Arshavin had his heart on a move to Arsenal and was prepared to accept a wage cut to come to the club, However he has become frustrated that Arsenal are unwilling to pay the asking price for him and has now told his agent that he is willing to go to any club who are willing to pay the asking price as he is desperate to leave Zenit.
We will keep you updated
Gooner Blog 
Another one bites the dust then…..i’m waiting for the ‘Man City sign Arshavin’ headlines now!
Good player but £19million…. I don’t think so.
This deal hinges on how much Arshavin and his agent want the Arsenal move. Arshavin is 27, he can either play in europe and win trophies or sit at a mid table club an earn big bucks, its his decision.*
*I am pretty sure the other offers for Arshavin are from clubs not in Europe.
I think for the price demanded Arsenal will be better off getting someone with epl experience. There is no doubt AA is a talented player but he will take time to get used to the epl.Even our own Pires said he took six months to get used tomthe tackling in the epl.
this is really painful why cant someone just pull there bloody finger out and put us out of our misery? forget from russia with love and go for parker from the Bubble blowers.
Go for another player, Arshavin is too old, and are not worth £19million .
I am glad Arsenal protects our club values with wage structures and the rejection of any anomalous transfer fee. But sitting at the transfer table the opposite party will always feel we are trying to pinch a cheap deal.
His name sounds like Arse Shaving, that automatically gives him a value cap at 12mil.
Arshavin is what Arsenal needs after Hleb’s left, in one word, CREATIVITY. If we won’t pay the money for Arshavin, I guess we deserve next season to be in the UEFA CUP and then all those who didn’t spend the money, will understand why it was necessary to buy a top-class player like Arshavin.
Whilst I accept 19million(thats if we win the champions leauge in 3 years)is alot of money for a 27 year old-but come on hes a class act,recentley voted 6th best player in the world.We have money to spend,he will add a much needed cutting edged to our team,which might push us on in the league which I still believe we can win (Im sure 13 wins and 3 draws would win it-and is possible).60000 plus of us are constantley paying big money each week to watch our team(cost me £137 for 2 tickets for west ham game),we havnt spent hardly anything in recent times and sold many players on for a profit,let alone sell on deals from bentley,muamba etc.If we dont pay up,I will feel really let down by the club and the manager I love-it will send out the wrong message to our players,the press and most importantly the supporters.It will have a negative effect mentally on us all,and I will have serious doubts about the rest of the season.Yes I know we will still finish 4th,but we are not far from pushing on for first.I hope your wrong on this one.Im normally just a reader,but I starting to get really f**** off now.The chairman been saying theres money avaliable for years,we are one of the richest clubs in the world,more members(paying 30quid a pop)than any other club in the world-yet still we feel the need to barter down for a top player who was quoted at 25m in the summer after years of not even spending our budget and making money.Sort it out Arsene,I still think you know best,but for the first time in 12 years,Im starting to doubt you-I hope Im wrong.
Paying £12M for a 27 year old without the stamina to play 3 games in a row would be over the top. £19m is just ridiculous! Why don’t we buy someone younger and better and save some money. Better yet, let’s buy a centre back and a defensive midfielder and forget about attacking player.
@DutchGooner
I disagree that Arsenal are trying to penny pinch. I think Zenit are being very greedy, remember the player is out of contract in November, he is 26 years old, and until Euro 2008 he was an unknown.
There is no way he is worth 20mil. I think 12mil is still a bit of a gamble on a player who has never played anywhere but Russia.
Please see my previous point.
Arsenal dont negotiate with terrorists!
Its like Nasri all over again!!! will he wont every day.. Every other club just keeps it quiet and does their business without all this agro. But arsenal drag it on every day for a month! its soo dulll. Andrei arshavin is a brillant player and showed this in the summer. He will make a difference and if its three million quid extra arsenal should go for it!! We are buying second rate players to please wengers budget. Soon van persie/fabregas/walcott will leave and there will be noone exciting leaving eboue and diaby.. Either buy him or dont!! but when this transfer saga is over I will never ever read the transfer stories again as they are misleading!
Finally, this is comin to a friggin end!! f**k arshavin n get İbrahim Affelley in from PSV!! what a total waste of 2 weeks in the transfer market from wenger!! we know he wont pay big money so y did he even bother wastin out time, he’s just done it to pass time on the transfer window n now he’ll say he made a suitable offer but he’s gona go with wat he’s got!! w**ker
As we are the third highest goalscorers in the league (scoring 3 more than Man U) I question the assumption that we are lacking in creativity. Comparing the goals we’ve shipped however our 24 is outragious compared to Man Us miserly 10. It is blatently obvious that it is our defensive game that needs shoring up. Arshavin will not add strength to where we need it most.
Ok so i posted last week claiming a £13.5 million deal was on the table for Zenit to accept or decline. Zenit have declined!!
However, news coming to me is that Usmanov is meeting Zenit this week (Im not sure of the day) to get this deal sorted, he knows Arsenal’s offer, he knows Zenit are being greedy and stubborn and a little word in thier ear may just let the reality sink into Zenit’s head that they mat lose any transfer fee in 10 months time.
Other clubs have contacted Zenit but are not prepared to move higher than Arsenal’s offer and are willing to wait come next January to have the player for free.
Forget him he aint that good.
@ Cesc
Please read the comments carefully before you react to them. I said that I am proud my club stick to their guns. But it comes with disadvantages in a hyped world outside Arsenal.
The selling party will always feel you are trying to get the cheapest deal because of your policy, instead of paying the players -so called- market value.
for god sake ! aren’t we one of the richest club in the world ! we can’t afford 3 more millions ?!?!!!!! what the hell is going on ? we bought nasri 4 12 million ! up to 15 million ! i think the 6th top player in the world deserves much better !
out board prove it once that we are still a big club , we can’t afford 3 more millions ! this is a critical situation we need critical actions ! hell with the policy ! if we can’t get this one we wont be able to get any superstar ! what do u guys expect ! how the hell we can buy a superstar with an experience 4 less dan 15 million ! palacios ( 14 ) defoe ( 15 ) the serbian man u bought ( 14.5 ) million ! 4 god sake wenger
these board are letting us down , if any one would tell me do we have other options ? no ! cranjcar singed a new deal , artita staying , elia staying ! no one with that skills and talent and experience available ! hell with the policy get 3 more millions and get the guy !!
Didn’t we miss out on Alonso for the same reason.
Arsenal offer £10
Liverpool want £16
Arsenal offer £13
Liverpool say give us 15 and you have a deal.
Arsenal pull out of the deal.
Small time club
Exclusive…….
Arsene Wenger has left the country for 2 days, not sure wheere he’s gone, but it is to tie up a deal.
face it folks!! the arsenal board is happy to have 60k plus fans in the emirates and maintain a top four finish every season(more profits) than buy top players,the fans opinion don’t really count in arsenal these days,if Man ure can pay 14 mill for the unknown serbian, why the hell can’t arsenal pay the same amount or 1 mill more for arshavin, don’t forget he is from the russian league which is quite physical, he might lack the stamina to play 2-3 games a week but he has the magic to change a game, that which only Van Persie has in this arsenal team at the moment. I suggest people quit moaning and get with the programme
@ Ali
We are not the 3rd richest club in the world for no particular reason. That status has come out of the policy and I am proud of it. But desperate times need desperate measures and I agree with you we need to spend the cash. But not like a mad dog on rabies.
Just saying that it is good to have some solid principles. Like Kaka snubbed City for football reasons instead of going for financial gain.
[…] Without wanting to say anything that could implicate a source, it’s fair to say that these two stories are both, in their own way, depressingly close to the […]
The football world is in for a reality check in the next year or two. Most clubs in the EPL have huge debts they need to service and the cash cow is coming to an end. The average joe will not be able to afford season tickets (hence attendances drop), the next TV deal will be nowhere near the current level and the weak pound will mean even less spending power. All these things have been considered by AW and the board in their negociations. They will not pay silly money for players. The stadium debt is manageable now and they have a reasonable player budget which will be spent wisely. I can’t believe I’m reading statements like “we can’t afford 3 more millions ?!?!!!!! what the hell is going on ? “. Yes we can afford it but 3 million is a lot of money to waste when not necessary.
In Arsene we trust.
i am getting really pissed off about this arshavin situation, arsen wenger will not pay big money because he likes to buy people cheap and turn them into superstars and maybe he is right because he done it with henry,pires,van persie,vieri,fabregas,adebayor.but maybe for once it is time to change and just buy arshavin for15m,16m,17m it doesnt matter the amount just buy a superstar instead of trying to turn someone into one
well no its not only another 3 million, evreyone who thinks arshivin is the nuts, im sorry but he’s unproven, hes almost 28 and has had a good half season. I agree itd be great to have him at arsenal as i think he could be great, but hes only worth 12mil, were already offering 15/16 and then they want 20 mil, basically double what hes worth! besides, zenit are desperate, they know hell buy out his contract soon so in my opinion were in the driving seat with this one, watch them come grovelling back in the last week of the transfer window!
Arsenal & Wenger will NOT sign ONE single player in this transfer window….Mark my words!
Zenit DG Mitrofanov has a bad reputation when it comes to transfer deals. He’s currently holding back 3 transfer deals including AA.
Forget Zenit I say!!
We should just buy this chump. He’d even us the world cup if we did. Buy, buy, buy…..
[…] 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. This blog told you about this problem weeks ago LINK […]