The main obstacle to Andrey Arshavin's transfer to Arsenal is the excessively high salary demanded by the Russian. The Londoners are prepared to pay Arshavin around 80,000 Euros a week, but he does not want to take a cut in his current salary at Zenit, which is around 100,000 Euros a week.

Arsenal are prepared to meet this demand, but only on condition that the transfer fee is reduced. However, this does not suit Zenit, which is why negotiations are proceeding slowly, despite the fact that a preliminary agreement between the clubs concerning the transfer of the player has already been achieved.

Аrshavin can speed up the process if he pays Zenit compensation for breaking his 4-year contract with the club. Iin 2006 he was paid a one-off sum of $5 million for signing a long-term contract. If he terminates the contract early, Andrey Arshavin can return half that sum ($2.5 million) to Zenit, and this will be added to the player's transfer fee.