Bid for Arshavin rejected

Asked about the rumours linking Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) with a summer exit, Zenit general director Maxim Mitrofanov has said in an interview with Russian radio station Radio Zenit that Barcelona is the only club so far who has made a formal offer but that the Russian champions have rejected it and prefer to hold on to the player:

"There are currently a lot of rumours about a transfer of Andrei Arshavin to a west european club. Barcelona is the only club so far that has made an official approach. No other clubs, this means including Chelsea, have contacted us. The fate of the player should be resolved mid-July. Zenit's position is to keep our leading player although we will respect Andrei's wishes. But for the fee that Barcelona has proposed to us, we cannot sell Arshavin."

Asked about the rumours saying that Arshavin would fly to London to hold talks with Chelsea today (read more here), Zenit spokesman Alexei Blinov said in an interview with Russian news agency RIA Novosti that the club was unaware of that: "We saw the news but we have no information about that. Arsahvin took normally part in the training session today."

Zenit manager Dick Advocaat has said to journalists today that it's not yet sure what will happen with the player: "There's no final decision taken yet whether he will remain at the club or not. I expect everything to be clear and decided upon two weeks from now."

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Final offensive for Arshavin

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Silva versus Arshavin (Times scouting report)