[kiko]

Andrei Arshavin this evening put pen to paper to become Arsene Wenger's latest player as a day of on-off negotiations ended positively for the Arsenal.

The 27-year-old took the initiative to fly into London yesterday as he wanted to be close to the Arsenal medical centre to make sure he was on hand if Zenit St Petersburg agreed to sell him to the Gunners.

At mid-day it seemed as if the deal had collapsed with Sky Sports News reporting that the midfielder was on his way to a private airfield to fly back to Russia.

It appears that may have been an elaborate smokescreen, however, as at 4 o'clock - just one hour before the transfer deadline - whispers started emerging from The Home Of Football that a deal had been agreed between both clubs, while personal terms had also been approved by Arshavin.

The player also passed a medical, but a major stumbling block was that Zenit insisted that Arshavin make a payment to them - thought to be part of a loyalty bonus he had received from the club.

That situation is unheard of in transfer circles, but with the Arshavin saga having rolled on for 33 days, of course there was going to be some glitch to make us Gooners sweat right up until the final second.

But the player - unlike his new employers - appeared only too willing to get out his cheque book to sever his relationship with the Russian UEFA Cup holders.

So it would appear that Andrei was so keen to become a Gunner that he actually paid a couple of million quid of his own money to secure his dream move.

And with the North London derby looming this weekend and the Spuds having re-signed Robbie Keane from Liverpool just six months after he escaped T*tt*nh*m, let's just hope that Arsene Wenger has found the creative spark that has been so lacking in the Arsenal team of late.