ZENIT ST Petersburg will have to lower their inflated demands for midfielder Andrei Arshavin if they are to strike a deal with Arsenal.

The Russians yesterday suggested a €20 million move for the 27-year-old playmaker, who shot to prominence during Euro 2008, was set to be concluded, with the Emirates Stadium his likely destination.

However, while Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has long been a fan of Arshavin, the Premier League club are not prepared to meet such an exaggerated price tag, in a package which would be further increased by the player's wage demands.

Arshavin is reported to have visited Arsenal's Hertfordshire training ground during a trip to England earlier this year, while it has also been claimed the player is, in fact, already in London to put the final touches to the move - which came as news to his representative, Dennis Lachter, who remains overseas and is in constant contact with his client.

While Zenit manager Dick Advocaat, the former Rangers manager, is resigned to losing Arshavin, Lachter maintains any talk of a done deal is premature.

"For now, there are not any negotiations going on, but I believe in the near future he will be on the move and that next week will bring some news," Lachter said.

"I am sure that any club would be interested in the services of a quality player like Andrei, but it all depends on the money Zenit are asking for. However, I do not believe that they can get the money they want; the pound is going down and there is all this difficult financial situation, which does not help."

While Zenit may well remain determined to hold out for a hefty fee, they could be forced to offload the player at a cut price, as Arshavin has threatened to invoke new Fifa regulations and buy out the remaining 18 months of his contract to become a free agent.

For their part, Arsenal are on the look out for a midfielder to bolster Wenger's options following the loss of captain Cesc Fabregas to injury, but will not be held to ransom.

While Wenger maintained last week people were in "dreamland" if they thought the club would break the bank under the current economic outlook to land a star name just for the sake of it, he indicated they would be prepared to buy an "exceptional talent".

Arsenal have also been linked with Everton's Spain international Mikel Arteta, which Wenger rejected out of hand at last week's media conference.