New Arsenal signing Andrey Arshavin caught up in red tape row
Published 23:02 03/02/09 By
Arsenal were facing a storm of controversy last night after Andrey Arshavin completed his £12million move nearly 24 hours after the transfer window shut.
The Premier League confirmed some of the paperwork was submitted after Monday's 5pm deadline - but they still rubber-stamped the transfer.
It is likely to enrage other clubs as it is now clear the Football Association and the Premier League bent the rules to push the deal through.
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill will be furious Arsenal have managed to secure the deal in their battle for the Champions League places.
Yesterday it emerged that there was a problem with some of Arsenal's paperwork and also that Zenit St Petersburg had put through some documents late.
The Premier League insisted they were happy to push the deal through as "long as the FA were happy'' while officials at Soho Square also blamed Monday's bad weather for delays.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: "Everything was done before the deadline.''
Russian playmaker Arshavin, 27, will fly home to St Petersburg this morning to get a work permit.
He said: "I trained with the team this morning and I am not fit yet. I'm happy to be at Arsenal, it was my dream.''
Get your hands on this week's estimated jackpot of £100,000 by playing the
New Football Pools
.
Find out what our resident
Premier League fan bloggers
think - and let them know your views.
Follow every Premier League game live with our brilliant
Match Tracker
.
Which classic football manager are you? Take our test
Follow MirrorFootball on Twitter for breaking news, the latest opinions and fun stuff throughout the day
Get the best priced tickets to the best games at Mirror Tickets.
Win two tickets to see Fulham vs Man City with Mirror Football.
Post to :
