Russian star midfielder Andre Arshavin of Zenith St. Petersburg will join Arsenal until June 2012 for 12 million pounds.

The Gunners are now merely waiting on the Premier League to sign all the necessary paperwork for the deal to be made official.

The fee was far from the initial asking price the reigning UEFA Cup winners wanted of 20 million pounds, but included a substantial performance-linked bonus.

Conflicting signals had been emerging from Arsenal’s Emirates stadium and Russia throughout the day as the 1700GMT deadline came and went and a Zenit club spokesman had even said the deal had fallen through.

The deal apparently hit a last minute snag when Zenit demanded a portion of Arshavin’s signing on fee.

But other Russia news agencies were reporting that a deal had been struck on a three-and-a half year contract.

Gazeta.ru site nnounced that Arshavin, one of the stars at Euro 2008, had passed his medical and was now an Arsenal player, inheriting the Gunners’ number 13 shirt.

He will probably not make his debut for the Gunners for a few weeks because he will have to work on physical conditioning to adapt to the rigours of the English game.

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Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has written off Arsenal’s title hopes, believing it will become a three-way battle between the defending champions, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Arsenal are eight points behind leaders Liverpool, seven adrift of Chelsea and two off United.

“I presume us, Chelsea and Liverpool will start pulling away a bit after Christmas,” Ferdinand told BBC radio from Tokyo where United are competing in the Club World Cup of continental champions.

“It’s not beyond them (Arsenal), it’s just my personal opinion that it will be between us three this season.”

Arsene Wenger’s side are languishing in fifth place after surrendering the lead in a tame 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday.

At the same time, Aston Villa’s 4-2 win over Bolton Wanderers took Martin O’Neill’s side into fourth.

United, who drew 0-0 with Spurs last Saturday, will miss next weekend’s round of Premier League matches, but Ferdinand said everyone would be keeping a close eye on what was happening.

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