Zenit playing hardball with Arsenal on Arshavin fee

ZENIT St Petersburg remain determined to stand firm on their asking price as Arsenal continue their pursuit of Andrei Arshavin.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was hoping to complete a deal for the Russian playmaker ahead of the FA Cup fourth-round trip to Cardiff.

However, any plans to blood the new signing at Ninian Park on Sunday look to have been scuppered as Zenit will not budge from their demand for £20 million (€21.4m) for the player.

While it is clear the Russians are resigned to losing the wantaway player, it will only be if the price is right.

With Arsenal, whose record transfer fee paid is £13m (€14m), having so far refused to match that figure – with them looking to lay out around £12m (€12.8m) plus add-ons – the clubs appear to be at an impasse, although Zenit have indicated an improved cash bid up to £15m (€16m) would secure the player’s services.

It has even been suggested Arshavin, 27, could be willing to invoke new FIFA legislation and eventually buy himself out of the remainder of his contract later in the year should an agreement for his transfer not be reached this month.

Arsenal have so far not made any official comment, other than Wenger revealing negotiations were ongoing.

The Barclays Premier League club are, though, understood to have set a deadline of Monday one way or another for what has turned out to be the most protracted saga of the January transfer window.

Meanwhile Emmanuel Adebayor insists the Gunners might as well pack up and go home now if they did not believe they could force themselves back into the title race.

After a troubled first half of the campaign which saw William Gallas stripped of the captaincy following public criticism of the team, the Gunners have slowly started to recapture their form, with an unbeaten Barclays Premier League run now at eight games.

However, Arsene Wenger’s side remain outside the top four and are six points behind new leaders Manchester United, who have a game in hand.

Adebayor, though, insists the Gunners, without injured captain Cesc Fabregas until April, are up for the challenge.

“The most important thing is that we keep on going and keep on believing in ourselves and thinking we can do something. That is the only way we can improve our football,” Adebayor said.

“If we didn’t believe we could still win the title, we might as well just ask the boss if we could spend the season back home enjoying ourselves with our families.