Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov could be key to their capture of Zenit St Petersburg ace Andrei Arshavin.

The Sunday Telegraph says Arsenal are determined to do the deal with the transfer funds available and are refusing to go any higher than a £12 million up-front payment. That deal would include £3 million in instalments but Zenit are holding out for the whole £15million up front, with the hope that Usmanov will make up the shortfall.

Usmanov has a long-standing relationship with Gazprom - the Russian energy company that owns Zenit and is Usmanov's former employer - and was estimated, before the financial crash, to be worth in excess of £6 billion. However, while Usmanov has offered to help broker the deal he is reluctant to put in his own money. The was no comment yesterday from Red and White Holdings, the company that holds Usmanov's equity interests in Arsenal.

Arsenal are still optimistic of getting the deal done before tomorrow's deadline.