Zenit St. Petersburg striker and reigning Euro 2008 star so far, Andrei Arshavin is the man of the hour. Reports suggest he is ready to try his hand at his trade outside his native Russia, and has received offers from England and Germany.

However, Arshavin has stated that he is interested in moving to Spain as he is a fan of the league and likes the way football is played there. Zenit boss Dick Advocaat also claimed in a recent interview that Arshavin is likely to join Barcelona.

Arshavin’s desire to play for Spain has now turned the current Adebayor transfer saga upside down, as the Blaugrana may be tempted to make a move for the 27-year-old. Apparently, Arsenal have been interested in landing Arshavin and have been planning to use funds from a potential Adebayor transfer to buy the talented striker while they still have cash to spare, having priced Adebayor at around €32m, while Arshavin will cost in the region of €15m. However, Barça is only willing to pay 27 million euros for the Togolese striker and could therefore sign for Arshavin.

My take on this is that Barca should make a move for the man of the hour, Arshavin. He is a player that I think many Barcelona fans would love to see at the Camp Nou, even more than Emmanuel Adebayor. Also Arshavin has expressed his desire to move to Spain, while Adebayor’s heart seems to be set on playing in Italy for AC Milan. Barcelona needs to bring players to the club who have a strong desire to play for the club and I think Arshavin is one of them.

Russian football is clearly on the rise, demonstrated by Zenit St. Petersburg’s UEFA Cup win over Rangers and now Russia’s participation in Euro 2008. Arshavin believes that there are many good players in this country that is now being discovered, and one thing is certain, he is definitely one of them.