Andrei Arshavin has his heart set on a move to Barcelona this summer, saying that playing for the club he supported as a boy is a "dream".


Arshavin has only made two appearance at the tournament but his impact has alerted top European clubs and Zenit St Petersburg are braced for his departure.


Arsenal have also been linked the 27-year-old, with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger suggesting recently that he would fit the bill for the football in the Premier League.


However, Arshavin said:

"I have supported Barcelona all my life.

Barcelona are my dream. I never thought I would have a genuine chance to play for the club. Let's see how the situation unfolds.

For now I can't say anything for sure. At the moment I'm a player of team Russia and I'm only thinking about doing well in the semi-finals."

Arshavin will start for Russia against Spain in the Euro 2008 semi-final at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday evening.


He missed the defeat to Spain at the start of the tournament through suspension and admits there could be an element of revenge to turn around that 4-1 reverse.



He said..

"Possibly because I didn't take part in the first match, For me the first game has no meaning any more. This is a semi-final and things can be decided by a single mistake."

Russia coach Guus Hiddink has Denis Kolodin and Dmitri Torbinski suspended for the semi-final.

Barcelona could be ready to offer Andrei Arshavin a dream move after Zenit St Petersburg confirmed the Spanish giants have made an approach.

Arshavin is one of the most-sought after players in Europe after catching the eye at the Euro 2008 finals with Russia.


The classy playmaker is expected to leave Zenit this summer and he has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all credited with an interest in his services.


Arshavin has admitted he would like to move to Spain with Barcelona being his dream destination and the Catalan titans have now made their first move to lure the 27-year-old to La Liga.


Zenit's sporting director Konstantin Sarsaniya says Barcelona have contacted them about a possible deal for Arshavin and that his future will be resolved once he returns from international duty.

"Barcelona has made a formal proposal to Zenit for the purchase of Arshavin," Sarsaniya told Sovietski Sport.

"We will only talk about this once Andrei returns to Zenit."

Sporting Life / Eurosport