Gunners had made moves to sign Russian ace Arshavin
THE agent of Andrei Arshavin has revealed his client could
have been on his way to Arsenal, only for his wage demands to put Arsene
Wenger off of a move for the Russian.
The Zenit St Petersburg playmaker's future has been one of the longest
running sagas this summer, with Barcelona, the Gunners and most recently
Tottenham thought to be the three clubs leading the race for his signature.
But a combination of UEFA Cup winners Zenit's hefty ?21million asking
price and Arshavin's supposed ?100,000 a week wage demands have so far
proved the biggest stumbling blocks. And the player's agent, Dennis Lachter
revealed it was his client's personal demands that scuppered a move to
the Emirates.
"Wenger was serious about buying Arshavin," Lachter was quoted
as saying in the Daily Express.
"If Andrei could have tempered his financial appetite, it was quite
possible he would be playing at the Emirates right now.
"Arsenal were prepared to pay about ?15 million for him, but they
are the only top English club who do not pay large salaries."
