Arsenal to reveal Arshavin future

The outcome of Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin's proposed move to Arsenal is finally set to be revealed on Tuesday. 

Arshavin's agent Dennis Lachter claimed he was "very confident" the 27-year-old's move from Zenit St Petersburg will be ratified by the Premier League. 

"It was completed in extra time but we must wait for confirmation," he said. 

The Premier League told BBC Sport that Monday's adverse weather meant there were still outstanding transfers that needed approval from its board. 

A Zenit spokesman had said on Monday that the deal had fallen through and the player was returning to the club. 

But Lachter told BBC Sport the deal had been agreed by all parties and only needed to be made official by the Premier League.
Lachter added that "in 16 years this has been the most difficult transfer ever", without wanting to go into details of the sticking points in the deal. 

The clubs had been in discussions over the move for the duration of the transfer window but the 1700 GMT deadline passed on Monday without any official word on the player's future. 

It was understood that Arsenal had agreed a fee with Zenit, during which time Arshavin, one of the stars of Euro 2008, accepted personal terms and passed a medical. 

Reports suggested the deal collapsed when the clubs could not reach an agreement, with the claim being the move broke down over the size of the fee and compensation Zenit would be paid for allowing Arshavin to break his contract. 

But later on Monday Zenit spokesman Alexei Petrov was quoted as saying: "The deal was signed for three-and-a-half years and the financial details will be disclosed tomorrow." 

Another report claimed Arshavin had joined Arsenal "until June 2012 for £12m". 

Arshavin travelled to London on Sunday in order to complete the formalities of the move before the transfer deadline. 

However, after being pictured in Hertfordshire, key figures in the deal said that Arshavin had left for an airport and the move was off, amid suggestions that the two clubs differed in their valuation of the player.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has remained hopeful throughout that he would land his man. 

"We are always confident, we try our best, if we can find an agreement, we will do it," he had said earlier. 

"These kind of stories sometimes develop in the last minute on the final day of the transfer window. It is very difficult to predict." 

It is rumoured that Arshavin will take the number 13 shirt previously held by Alexander Hleb, who was sold to Barcelona last summer.