Arshavin deal finally done

ANDREY ARSHAVIN has been officially unveiled as an Arsenal player – ending the longest running saga of the transfer window.

The Gunners agreed a deal for the player with his former club, Zenit St Petersburg, just minutes before yesterday’s 5pm transfer deadline and had to wait until today for the move to be ratified by the Premier League.

That has now been forthcoming and the 27-year-old has joined for a fee believed to be around £15million, signing what the north Londoners call a “long-term” contract.

After completing his move, Arshavin said: “I am so happy to be joining Arsenal. They are one of the leading football clubs in the world, with a group of fantastic young players and a great manager.

Clutching an Arsenal shirt bearing his name and the No 23, he added: "I am looking forward to making the Arsenal supporters happy and helping this great club win trophies.

“It was a very hard few days for me but now it doesn’t matter. I’m a Gunner.

"I’m happy to be at Arsenal. I like Arsenal’s style. I like Arsene Wenger as a coach. I like some of the players from this team.”

And Arsenal boss Wenger revealed his delight at finally signing the man he has been chasing since last summer.

He said: “We are delighted to have signed Andrei Arshavin, he is a player I have admired for a long time.

"He is a versatile player with great experience, who will add real quality to our squad. Andrei is an exciting impact player with a huge amount of ability and has been an influential force with both Zenit St Petersburg and the Russian national team in recent seasons.”