Zenit cut Arshavin price

Spurs were originally told the 27-year-old, who starred at Euro 2008 for his country, would cost upwards of £20million and no fee was agreed between the clubs.

"Zenit have decided to reduce the asking price for Andrei, but exactly how much I cannot say because the negotiations were led by Zenit president Alexander Dyukov," Zenit sporting director Konstantin Sarsaniya told Russian newspaper Sovetsky Sport, who suggested a deal could be concluded over the weekend.

"There are only small differences left."

Arshavin, encouraged by a conversation with Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos, is willing to join Spurs after initially declaring Barcelona as his preferred destination.

Spurs are in the market for strikers following the departure of Robbie Keane to Liverpool and Dimitar Berbatov wanting to leave White Hart Lane Lane for Manchester United. Arshavin would be seen as a like-for-like replacement for Keane.

Arshavin himself is certainly hoping a resolution can be found in the next few days.

"This situation has dragged on long enough and I hope everything will be definitively decided this week," Arshavin told Spanish newspaper Sport. "The million dollar question is where will I go?"

Reports suggest Zenit are now wanting to offload Arshavin as quickly as possible as the ongoing speculation is having a negative effect on the team.

Zenit coach Dick Advocaat said: "The Arshavin saga has to be solved one way or another this week, because it has already started affecting the team's performance."