The transfer saga over Andrei Arshavin's move from Zenit St Petersburg to Arsenal finally looks to be over after Thursday's Premier League board meeting passed without discussion of the transfer.
There were reports that the Arshavin deal could be probed at the quarterly meeting of the 20 top-flight clubs as questions are being asked as to why Arsenal were allowed to complete the signing of the Russian forward — nearly 24 hours after the transfer window closed.
But it is understood that the issue - which also encompasses Stephen Kelly's late switch from Birmingham to Stoke - was not on the agenda for the meeting and was not brought up by any of the member clubs.
Aston Villa chief operating officer Paul Faulkner had been mooted as the member most likely to ask questions over Arshavin's transfer.
It is Villa who aware Arshavin’s arrival could ruin their bid to qualify for the Champions League, Villa have categorically denied that Faulkner would be asking questions about the transfer window.
Asked whether the Arshavin deal had been discussed, Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards said: "No. It was a great meeting, but no."
Paul Duffen, Hull's chairman, said on Sky Sports News: "It was not on the agenda. We didn't discuss it.
"There was statement made saying everything with the transaction was done within the regulations.
"Certainly the Premier League are comfortable with the way it was processed."
Ivan Gazidis, the new Arsenal chief executive who formally took up his position earlier this month following a successful stint as the deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer, said earlier that the protracted transfer of Arshavin has been overly "dramatised."
He told Arsenal TV Online: "We probably bored everybody, and I think everyone got a bit tired of the on-going story.
"It took longer than anybody would have wanted to get to a conclusion, but we got there in the end.
"People dramatise these things a little bit.
"It was never on until it finally got done, but it was not on and off through the day either.
"Certainly it went closer to the deadline than I would have liked, but sometimes you have to do that to finally push it over the finish line."
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There were reports that the Arshavin deal could be probed at the quarterly meeting of the 20 top-flight clubs as questions are being asked as to why Arsenal were allowed to complete the signing of the Russian forward — nearly 24 hours after the transfer window closed.
But it is understood that the issue - which also encompasses Stephen Kelly's late switch from Birmingham to Stoke - was not on the agenda for the meeting and was not brought up by any of the member clubs.
Aston Villa chief operating officer Paul Faulkner had been mooted as the member most likely to ask questions over Arshavin's transfer.
It is Villa who aware Arshavin’s arrival could ruin their bid to qualify for the Champions League, Villa have categorically denied that Faulkner would be asking questions about the transfer window.
Asked whether the Arshavin deal had been discussed, Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards said: "No. It was a great meeting, but no."
Paul Duffen, Hull's chairman, said on Sky Sports News: "It was not on the agenda. We didn't discuss it.
"There was statement made saying everything with the transaction was done within the regulations.
"Certainly the Premier League are comfortable with the way it was processed."
Ivan Gazidis, the new Arsenal chief executive who formally took up his position earlier this month following a successful stint as the deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer, said earlier that the protracted transfer of Arshavin has been overly "dramatised."
He told Arsenal TV Online: "We probably bored everybody, and I think everyone got a bit tired of the on-going story.
"It took longer than anybody would have wanted to get to a conclusion, but we got there in the end.
"People dramatise these things a little bit.
"It was never on until it finally got done, but it was not on and off through the day either.
"Certainly it went closer to the deadline than I would have liked, but sometimes you have to do that to finally push it over the finish line."
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Related links:
Team
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Also see:
