Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Russian ace Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg for an undisclosed fee believed to be £16.9million.The Gunners agreed a deal for the forward with Zenit just minutes before Monday's 5pm transfer deadline and had to wait until Tuesday for the move to be ratified by the Premier League.
That has now been forthcoming and the 27-year-old has joined for a package which is believed to be nearly £17million in total.
Arshavin has signed what the north Londoners call a "long-term" contract.
Arsenal were forced to delay naming Arshavin as their player until Tuesday afternoon as it was one of a number of transfers awaiting approval by the Premier League board because of administrative delays caused by the severe snow which crippled London's transport networks on Monday.
The Gunners have not won a major competition since they triumphed over Manchester United in the FA Cup final in 2005, one year after they went unbeaten to claim the Premier League title.
But the 27-year-old new boy is adamant that he has joined one of the best clubs in the world and is sure he can help add silverware to the Gunners trophy cabinet.
"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," he said.
"I am looking forward to making the Arsenal supporters happy and helping this great club win trophies.
"I'm happy to be an Arsenal player, it was my dream."
Zenit's official website ran a statement which read: "Zenit, Arsenal and Andrei Arshavin have concluded talks in London.
"An FC Zenit source has informed Fontanka that the talks were successful, and Andrei Arshavin is moving to Arsenal. The signed documents have already been sent to the English Football Association [Premier League].
"A source close to the discussions has told Fontanka that the terms of the deal are financially suitable to Zenit.
"The St Petersburg club will receive £16.5million - £15m for the transfer of the player and £1.5m compensation for breaking a long-term contract.
"In addition there is a further 500,000 Euros [£450,000] in bonuses which Arshavin has not yet received which will not be paid and instead make up part of the transfer sum.
"The overall sum of the transfer is around US Dollars 24m [£16.9m]."
Should those figures be correct, the deal would represent a transfer record for the Gunners.
Arshavin, who is reported to have been prepared to take a pay cut to join Arsenal, jetted into London on Monday for a medical to complete the deal, and is understood to have now returned to Russia to complete some personal arrangements before starting work at his new club.
Wenger has long been an admirer of the 41-cap Russia international, who shot to prominence at Euro 2008.
While Arshavin could make his debut in Sunday's north London derby at Tottenham, given the Russian domestic season finished in November, the player is more likely to be allowed some time to build up full match fitness.
Arsenal currently lie five points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa after successive Premier League draws against Everton and West Ham.
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