Tottenham and Arsenal linked with Zenit striker Arshavin

The Russia striker Andrei Arshavin has been linked with a move to Tottenham or Arsenal after his agent confirmed he is attracting interest from a trio of western European clubs.

The 26-year-old, part of the Russia squad which secured qualification to Euro 2008, is one of the country's brightest talents and is thought to be keen to leave reigning Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg for a new challenge.

"We have three offers for Arshavin. All three are from strong European teams," Arshavin's agent Pavel Andreev said. "We are currently considering the pros and cons of each and carrying out consultations. Andrei wants to leave and is interested in playing abroad. Everything will be in place no later than Wednesday."

According to the newspaper, the three teams in question are believed to be Tottenham, Arsenal and French Ligue 1 side Marseilles. However, Zenit spokesman Konstantin Sarsania insists no approach has been made for the player.

Arshavin, currently on a pre-season tour with Zenit in the United Arab Emirates, has made no secret of his desire to play in England. "For now I am here in the UAE as a Zenit player and am only thinking about tomorrow's training session," he said. "Regarding my future, I have already said I'd like to try one of Europe's top leagues, among which Spain and England interest me most."

The Celtic midfielder Teddy Bjarnason has completed a permanent move to Norwegian side Lyn Oslo. The 20-year-old was brought to Celtic in January 2005 by Martin O'Neill and the Icelandic player impressed for the youth and reserve teams.

He made his first-team debut at Easter Road in a 2-1 defeat by Hibernian in May last year and went on to win his first international cap for Iceland. Bjarnason signed a new contract in the summer and featured in Celtic's pre-season tour of Switzerland. That game against Hibs proved to be his last for the club after he suffered a foot injury at the start of the season.

The youngster found himself out in the cold as Scott Brown and Massimo Donati stepped into Gordon Strachan's midfield, and Paul Hartley hit top form.