Tottenham's hopes of landing Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Andrei Arshavin now look "very, very weak".

The Independent says Tottenham had been hopeful that a meeting between the Zenit president, Alexander Dyukov, and the player's representative Dennis Lachter this week might have forged a breakthrough in a stand-off over the Russian club's £27m demand for Arshavin.

But Dyukov cancelled the meeting and, with the club unwilling to give any ground, the player has withdrawn his services. Lachter said last night that the prospects of him leaving the Uefa Cup holders for White Hart Lane were now "very, very weak".

"This is the Russian way," a frustrated Lachter said. "Nothing will change because this is the old Soviet Union way. For the Russian sports establishment the desires of a player mean absolutely nothing. They are the big bosses. It is a dictatorship. He is a slave."