Former Russia captain Andrey Arshavin is close to leaving Arsenal this winter and moving westwards to Reading.

Goal.com reports the Premier League’s underdogs, owned by the Russian businessman Anton Zingarevich, are ready to spend 4 million pounds for the 31-year-old forward. The deal is expected to be finalized early next month.

Arshavin’s first club Zenit St Petersburg and Premier League’s Fulham had previously approached Arsenal over a possible transfer, but the Royals appeared to be the most insistent.

It is expected Arshavin will earn around 60,000 pounds a week, which will be the club’s new record, which is more than Arshavin’s former Zenit and Russia teammate Pavel Pogrebnyak gets at the club.

Arshavin joined the Gunners in 2009 and made 104 appearances scoring 23 goals. His recent doldrums has seen him settle deep into Arsenal’s bench, and made coach Arsene Wenger say the player has no future at the London club.

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