Zenit St Petersburg have dismissed Andrei Arshavin's threats of buying out his own contract to seal a move to Arsenal.

The Russian club's general director Maxim Mitrofanov has lifted the lid on a gentlemen's agreement which runs roughshod over FIFA rules.

Mitrofanov told Russian newspaper Sovetski Sport: "Yes, according to the laws of FIFA, at the end of the so-called 'protected period', the player has the right to unilaterally suspend the agreement by paying compensation to the club.

"But there is a nuance. The leading clubs in Europe, in order to protect themselves from such cases, agreed not to take on players who left the previous place of work using this rule. Formally, this agreement has not been laid down, but it exists.

"If Arshavin breaks the contract, he cannot be accommodated in a top club, to which he says he is seeking a move. So it is unprofitable for him."