Andrei Arshavin, the Zenit St Petersburg striker, will complete his belated on/off move to Arsenal later today after a draught was found in the Transfer Window.
The window, which had already been firmly shut and locked at midnight last night, prevents any further movement of players until the end of the season, but after the merest of draughts was found near the seal last night, the Gunners were told the deal could still go ahead.
The 27-year-old attacking midfielder's move has been on and off over the last few weeks, and was thought to have stalled as late as yesterday when the window became temporarily stuck due to ice as extreme bad weather conditions took hold across the UK.
Glaziers managed to rectify the problem, but last night, as the window was locked by FIFA officials, Arshavin was still a Zenit player, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left furious.
Wenger, whose name means 'window' in French, was overjoyed to hear of the draught this morning, and said:
"It's fortunate for us that the British workmen are so ... slapdash. I usually say that things have worked against us, but now I'm going to have to keep my mouth shut."
