It was a protracted "will he, won't he" move which went into extra-time before it was ratified by the Premier League.
Although he started his career as a right-sided midfielder he has emerged as an attacking, creative midfielder of supreme quality. Perhaps at his best playing just behind the strikers, Arshavin's time to play at the top level in European football seems long overdue.
Born in Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, he signed for his hometown club as a youth but began his playing days at their "farm" club, Zenit-2, in the Russian second division. He was promoted to the first team in the 2000 season and made his debut, at this point a right-sided midfielder, against Bradford City in the InterToto Cup.
His international bow came in 200 2for Russia against Belarus, scoring his first goal the following year against Romania.
Arshavin was the Russian Footballer of the Year in 2006, the year before he helped them to their first Russian Premier League title since 1984, starting every game and scoring 10 goals along the way.
In 2008 he won the UEFA Cup with Zenit and was named Man of the Match in a 2-0 win over Rangers in Manchester. And a few months later he was part of the Zenit side which beat Manchester United in the European Super Cup.
It was at the European Championships that year that he really shot to prominence. He had been a vital figure in the side which ousted England to make it to finals in Austria and Switzerland but a red card picked up in the final minutes of the last qualifier against Azerbaijan threatened to derail his involvement as he was banned for the first two games of Euro 2008.
Arshavin was thrown straight into the side for the last group game against Sweden and was an inspiration, sealing victory in injury time, as Russia won 2-0 to make it into the quarter-finals. And if that performance was good then against Holland in the last eight he was world class, scoring one and creating another as they won 3-1 after extra-time.
Now with all eyes on Arshavin and talk of a move to Barcelona, he failed to shine in the semi-finals against Spain as Russia lost 3-0 and that seemed to end rumours of a move to the Nou Camp. The player was also strongly linked with Tottenham Hotspur but Zenit's demands of a transfer fee over £20m ruined his hopes of a move.
Zenit failed to shine in the Champions League, and in the 2008 Russian league season, as the player became increasingly disillusioned at the club and was desperate to leave. He insisted he would not play for Zenit in the 2009 season.
Arsenal declared their interest at the start of the January transfer window and after a month long chase they finally managed to get hold of a player who has the ability to unlock a defence with a killer pass. He will hope to adapt to life in England quickly.
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