Russia president Vladimir Putin has been sensationally linked to Arsenal's deal for Andrey Arshavin.

The Daily Express says Putin reportedly made Arsenal pay £15million to sign Arshavin back in January 2009.

Arshavin signed for the Gunners from Zenit St Petersburg after catching the eye at Euro 2008.

And, according to claims made in a new book called The Deal by agent Jon Smith, Putin forced the Gunners to pay double what they initially were willing to spend.

In fact, the transfer only went through after Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov used his Russian connections to sweeten negotiations.

The 35-year-old ultimately proved to be an Arsenal flop and rejoined Zenit in 2012.