Zenit St Petersburg have hit back at Andrei Arshavin`s agent and say that they remain hopeful that the Russia star will move to Arsenal, according to Daily Mail.
The 27-year-old`s representative Dennis Lachter branded Zenit `barbaric` after talks with Arsenal reached a stalemate when the Barclays Premier League club refused to increase their ?12million bid.
But the Russian`s general director Maxim Mitrofanov says that Lachter does not know what he is talking about.
`We really are negotiating directly with the general manager of Arsenal,` said Mitrofanov. `The player`s agent did not participate.
`Therefore, he simply can not know all the subtleties of the negotiating process, and his words in this sense cannot always be trusted.
`With regard to the process, it is not easy, but we hope it will lead to a logical conclusion.`
Arshavin has joined his team-mates in Dubai for an off-season tour. Zenit play the first of three games on Saturday but Lachter has said that Arshavin is only in the United Arab Emirates to keep fit and that he will not play.
The forward told Russia`s Sport Express newspaper: `My hopes are, let`s say, are with the Almighty alone. Apart from Him, it appears, no one else is able to help me.
`One way or another, everything depends on Zenit. If they want to sell me, then they`ll do it very quickly.
`Arsenal suit me completely as an option to continue my career. The club, the trainer and the championship - all of them meet my desire to test myself at a new level.`
Zenit have publicly stated that their asking price is ?20m. Arsenal are believed to have bid ?12m up front with add-ons that could total in excess of a further ?3m.
The Russians may be playing for time and, though there are plenty of teams interested in Arshavin, it is thought that there are no other bids on the table.
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood told the Daily Star: `This is our final offer – we don’t go any further. If we don’t get him, we don’t get him. There are other fish in the sea.
`There is a limit. We made an offer and have now increased it a bit, but we don’t do exactly what everyone wants us to do necessarily.`
