The player has already gone on record as saying that he was a boyhood fan of Barcelona but also recognised the Premier League as the best in the world.

 

Russian journalist Stefan Chaushyan claims to have a source close to the negotiations between Chelsea and Zenit:

 

"Andrei has just agreed all details of a personal contract with the London club. In the near future, the clubs will sign all documents necessary to close the deal. Andrei will fly to London, where he will undergo a medical and put his signature to a contract."

However, an agreement on personal terms with the player doesn’t necessarily mean there has been a fee agreed with Zenit - or does it?

Could Arshavin agree terms with all interested clubs and then take his pick?  Or do personal terms mean that Arshavin has already made his mind up? 

Chelsea’s rivals for Arshavin are/were Barcelona, who reportedly put in an offer of around $24 million and Arsenal, who after being linked with the player early last month have reportedly just submitted a bid.

Could this be a clever agents tactic of planting a story about another clubs interest to  encourage the likes of Barcelona and Arsenal to make a definite move NOW?

Wenger has been labelled a “cunning fox” by Zenit official Dennis Lakhter though:

“Arsene Wenger is a cunning fox.  In the morning he says Arshavin will play all the time at his club and during the day he says he doubts the capabilities of Andrei to play three games in a row at the highest level.”

“But this is a tactic to fool the competition.  He calls Andrei a Tsar and then tries to deny interest in the player.”

Arshavin has refused a £3.9m-a-year Zenit deal.

For Arshavin to fit at Chelsea we would be looking at the departure of 1-2 midfielders – possibly out of Lampard, Sidwell and Sean Wright-Phillips.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Related Articles:

• Arshavin - Chelsea Linked (+ Video)

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS