Arshavin: Arsenal target
TEAMtalk.com
Latest
Zenit seeking inflated Arshavin fee
Zenit St Petersburg are determined to inflate the price Arsenal must meet for wantaway star midfielder Andrei Arshavin, according to his agent.
|
|
The Russians on Tuesday suggested a £20million deal for the 27-year-old playmaker, who shot to prominence during Euro 2008, was set to be concluded for their prized asset - with both the Gunners and Italian club Juventus understood to be leading the chase.
Arshavin, a long-time target for Arsene Wenger, is reported to have visited the Premier League club's Hertfordshire training ground during a trip to England earlier this year, while it has also been claimed the player is in fact already in London to put the final touches to the move.
While Zenit boss Dick Advocaat, the former Rangers manager, is resigned to losing Arshavin - who helped his side reach the Champions League group stages for the first time this season - the player's representative maintains any talk of a done deal are premature.
"There are no negotiations yet," Dennis Lachter said in the London Evening Standard.
"It is the people of Zenit trying to initiate some kind of interest. They are trying to use the media to make the price of Arshavin £20million."
The Russians, though, may well be forced to offload the unsettled player at a cut price, with Arshavin having threatened to invoke new FIFA regulations and buy out the remaining 18 months of his contract to become a free agent.
While Arsenal could shortly be ready to formally table an offer as Wenger looks to bolster his options following injury to captain Cesc Fabregas, it is unlikely to be anywhere near the figure Zenit - whose domestic season ended in November - have touted. Arshavin's hefty wage package would also have to be taken into account by the traditionally prudent Gunners, whose record signings under Wenger remain the £13million paid for Sylvain Wiltord and a similar package for Spain winger Jose Antonio Reyes, with neither move proving successful in the long term.
While the Arsenal manager maintained last week people were in "dreamland" if they thought the club would break the bank to land a star name just for the sake of it under the current gloomy economic outlook, Wenger did indicate he would be prepared to buy an "exceptional talent" - even if, like Arshavin, they were cup-tied for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Arsenal have also been linked with Everton's Spain international Mikel Arteta - which Wenger rejected out of hand at last week's media conference.
However, when pressed on any interest in Arshavin, the Gunners manager was less abrasive, perhaps indicating he was hopeful of eventually landing his man.
"At the moment, there is no progress," he said ahead of the FA Cup tie against Plymouth.
"If there is any progress made, you will be informed I promise you."
warringtonred : "...How refreshing to hear the Owen interview. He went on to eulogise about how he played for United in a youth tournament when he was young, also the respect he has for SAF and how he had always hoped he would try to sign h..." view full comment
Paper Talk: Fulham line up Crouch bid
Fulham are preparing a £10million bid for Peter Crouch, while Manchester United have been linked with a move for Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano.
More from today's press
United taking the Michael
TEAMtalk reflects on Manchester United's signing of Michael Owen - and believes few signings will raise as many eyebrows this summer.
Read today's Column
WhiteHartGlory (Tottenham Hotspur) : "...A mate of mine is according to him a friend of Jamie Redknapp- son of Spurs manager Harry. I realise it's hard to believe, but five or six days ago now I spoke to him in the pub and he told me Harry had told his son he was extremely interested in Joe..." view full rumour
Related Links
Don't miss these
| LATEST PHOTOS | TT COLUMN | LIVE UPDATES |
 |
|
|
| Go to the Gallery | Owen handed one final shot at glory | Twitter explained! |
Free Bet | Casino | Poker | Bingo
More Stories
Your Comments
didnotseeit (Arsenal fan)
"Oo2b_a_gooner (Arsenal fan), sorry I couldn't make the United game as I couldn't get the day off of work but am alas a season ticket holder of the last 24 years which in turn I believe must entitle me to be sceptical about Arsenal, thanks however for the insults, they were taken on-board. On the subject of spelling and seeing your last list of gigantic words not often seen in everyday life, I can only imagine that your original errors were typo's, I look forward to our next disagreement should there be one."
Oo2b_a_gooner (Arsenal fan)
"Didnotseeit - "I couldn't be bothered checking the rest as I lead an important life away from TEAMtalk..."...yes, quite clearly, taking into consideration you bothered 'spell checking' my response in the first place. I must apologise for the spelling mistakes, unlike yourself, I clearly should put more effort into typing out my response in word, spell checking it, having it proof read etc. Thanks for the highlighting the grammatical flaws also...I will sleep easy tonight. Yet again, you have failed to accurately read/interpret what i have said, when did i refer to Henry, Pires Overmars as 'average' players? I was using them as examples of, and i quote, shrewd/cost effective signings. You are by far the most patronising imbisal I have ever had the mis-fortune of encountering, and also, the worst type of football fan. Pressuming your own footballing supriority in regards to knowledge over people you have never met or know, because, being hypicritically pressumptious myself, but being supported by your own admission somewhat, due to your grammatical breakdown of my last response...you actually have no life...So i'll let you have this one. You are a prometheian being in regards to the footballing world, bringing radical new concepts and knowledge to us mere footballing mortals....we salute you. You pathetic excuse for an Arsenal fan, a football fan....p.s. my values were spot on because, suprisingly, I love football and Arsenal, one might say im a 'hardened' fan...right? Unlike catching the 'highlights of the united game' on tv...I was at that game, like the rest....JOG ON ! "
didnotseeit (Arsenal fan)
"Oo2b_a_gooner (Arsenal fan), being an Arsenal fan I feel the need to offer another some free guidance, "Perhaps one should ought" never use two 'passive' words like ought and should in the same breath, 'Unbleamished' contains no 'a', 'pressumptuous' has one too many 's' letters in it, 'respones' has one too few 's' letters in it (maybe take one away and give it to the other), I couldn't be bothered checking the rest as I lead an important life away from TEAMtalk but I did notice that you used some splendidly executed words like 'alluding' which I must say was used in the perfect context given what you were saying."
didnotseeit (Arsenal fan)
"Oo2b_a_gooner Arsenal fan, please learn to spell before responding to my comments as you look rather stupid calling my words idiotic without your spell-check switched on, further to my comments, Wenger makes an awful lot of bad calls and takes an equal amount of players that have had serious injuries at a cut price, you mention that I should take my head from my rear but how did you notice when you have yours stuck up Wengers, and when your refer to average players that he has bought why do you mention Henry, Pires, and Overmars who were quite some way past being average when they arrived, I was merely having a go at the pro Wenger/board dimwits that you appear to be one of who blight on about we can do this and that when in actual fact we can't beat an egg into submission because WENGER and the BOARD have let the club rot over the last five years in terms of a squad, the time has arrived for Wenger and the Eboneezers to bow to fan pressure but that will always be a mile away whilst there are people like you in the World. By the way, have you been surfing for players values only you are pretty much spot on (exception being the tribunal payment for Fabregas that worked out to a little over 1 Million)!"
Oo2b_a_gooner (Arsenal fan)
"p.s. Suprised you 'didnotsee' that one coming...im sure you enjoy 'bullying' fellow football fans on here with your self proclaimed phlethora of footballing wisdom...please 'educate' us all further with your wisdom!!!!"
Oo2b_a_gooner (Arsenal fan)
"
didnotseeit...what a moronic response to my post. In what way did i suggest that Wenger's transfer dealings were unbleamished? Perhaps one should ought to learn to read thoroughly before making pressumptious idiotic respones, merely an excuse for you to highten your own egotistic sense of what a 'hardened' supported you are by reeling off a list of transfers that could be obtained by any idiot form the web. YES, WENGER MAY HAVE MADE SOME BAD SIGNINGS!!! name me one manager in the world who has not?...what i was alluding to if you take your head out of your rear, was that on the whole, Wenger, due to being shall we say 'stung' by paying over-priced fees for, as you have so intelligently reeled off from the top of your head, Reyes, Jeffers, Wiltord etc. who have not matched their value in regards to performances on the pitch, WOULD BE RELUCTANT to pay this over inlfated amount for a player who is, as i stated before, not proven in the premiership, fairly old by Wenger's standards, and was OK at best in the Euro's. By cost effective/shrewd signings, I was referring to a few 'average' players, whom being such a hardened fan, im suprised you haven't heard of. Cesc Fabregas (free), Paddy V (3.5m), Pires (7m), Overmars (6m), Henry (10m), Toure (0.25m), Anelka (0.5m), Petit (3m)...the reason I havent mentioned signings before this period is suprisingly not becuase i have only just supported Aresnal in the past couple of years. But because my point was about WENGER'S SIGNINGS!!! It incenses me this pathetic ¿Im a better/longer/more loyal fan¿ than you idiotic childish pish! You are...a buffon. Simple. (and that is not a suggestion for a signing) p.s MrElston. I couldnt agree with you more,I wasn¿t suggesting that Wenger made the right decison in overlooking those players, merely that if he was in two minds about those players, i cant see him coughing up 20m 4 Arshavin.
"
didnotseeit (Arsenal fan)
"With all of the players we currently have that are still breast feeding and eat jelly tots we certainly do need players that Ar-shavin.."
sunny_patel1987 (Bolton Wanderers fan)
"£20 Mill seems like a lot. I do wonder if Asenal Even need this player. I think they do need to sign a few players but i'm unsure if this guy will add real quality for the money. I think they could do better elsewhere. I think they need to strenghten, but i dont think they should get hung up on Mr shavin. There are other fish in the sea. "
arseven (Arsenal fan)
"Arsenal can neither afford such fees nor inclined to do so - unless he can have a fruitful footballing career of at least 6-8 years! While not approving Wenger's dealings in the last 4-5 years (as it only benefited the Board and not the paying supporters!) I too would not pay the £18-£20 million being touted for a 27 year old!"
All comments on this story