Controversy Lingers Over Andrei Arshavin's Arsenal Switch

According to UK tabloid The Daily Mail, questions are being asked as to why Arsenal were allowed to complete the signing of Andrei Arshavin some 24 hours after the transfer deadline. The London giants sealed the deal at 4:52pm local time on February 3, when all deals were supposed to be completed by 5:00pm the day before. (There was, however, a conditional extension granted due to bad whether). It is understood that there were a few issues with paperwork that prevented the transfer from being processed on time, one of which was that Zenit St. Petersburg did not submit their forms quickly enough. However, the FA (Football Association) and the Premier League discussed the matter yesterday and came to the conclusion that everything was satisfactory, meaning Arshavin is now officially an Arsenal player. The Gunners' rival clubs are far from happy that the deal was allowed to go through so long after the close of the window, especially as negotiations had started several weeks prior. The 27-year-old Russian international could make his Arsenal debut in this weekend's north London derby against relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur.