Arsenal may sell Arshavin to raise funds

Arsene Wenger has begun to cast the net for new signings and is understood to have indicated that Arshavin is surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium. The club would want to recoup the £15m that they paid to Zenit St Petersburg in January 2009 and could reason that now is the time to do so, as Arshavin has two years to run on his contract and there has been little desire on either side to open negotiations over fresh terms. The difficulty, though, would be to find a club willing to match his £85,000-a-week wage.

It may come as a surprise to realise that Arshavin is comfortably Arsenal's appearance leader this season, with 51 in all competitions of which 15 have come as a substitute. He has contributed 10 goals, and the Arsenal manager has expressed the view that the forward's "numbers" have been acceptable.