Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin has reiterated his desire to leave the club, insisting he will not be playing for the side next season.
The Russian season is nearing its conclusion and speculation surrounding Arshavin's proposed move away from Zenit, possibly to the Premier League, is set to mount once more during the winter transfer window.
Arshavin was on the verge of a move to Tottenham following Russia's Euro 2008 campaign over the summer, but the move broke down when Zenit raised the asking price of the player to a reported 27 million euros.
And Arshavin is adamant if such a situation occurs again, this time he is ready for a fight.
"It all comes down to one thing - for Zenit to set a realistic price," Arshavin told Sport Express. "If they do that, I will, of course, leave.
"[If not] I will remain a Zenit player, but only on paper. Next year I don't want to play here and I will not be playing here.
"That is not an ultimatum, rather a natural reaction to what has happened. I always believed we could come to an agreement on good terms and I could leave the team in a proper manner.
"I have conducted myself reasonably, but the longer things go on the less faith I have. It looks like some kind of conflict is unavoidable, although, as God is my witness, I more than anyone don't want that to happen."
Since their UEFA Cup victory over Rangers in May, Arshavin has enjoyed further successes with Zenit, who beat Manchester United to the European Super Cup in Monaco in August.
The player is also experiencing Champions League football for the first time in his career as Zenit continue to battle for a place in the knockout stages in a group featuring Juventus, Real Madrid and BATE Borisov.
But in spite of this increased success, Arshavin's motivation clearly lies elsewhere.
"Everyone tells me that I have won things having stayed at Zenit, in particular the Super Cup," he continued.
"But this isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is a feeling of inner fulfilment, and I don't feel that at all.
"I also feel that my team-mates are not getting any pleasure out of playing with me by seeing me in this way."
It is not yet clear whether Tottenham will follow up their interest in the playmaker in light of recent developments at the club.
Spurs have undergone dramatic stages since they approached Zenit for Arshavin in the summer, with the club instead turning to his Russia international team-mate Roman Pavlyuchenko to fill the gap up front.
The London club also recently replaced Spanish coach Juande Ramos - who Arshavin previously specified as an important factor in his proposed move to White Hart Lane - with Harry Redknapp.
But Arshavin admits he has not been personally following the trials and tribulations of Spurs.
"If I'm honest I haven't seen a single [Tottenham] game. I don't need to - I get a full report of what's happening there," he said.
"After the epic of my failed transfer in the summer, a lot of people at Zenit are following this team now." - sportinglife.com
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment