English Premiership's Arsenal have to wait for an exception from the Premier League to complete a deal for Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin.

The 27-year-old midfielder passed a medical Monday in snowbound London, but an expected announcement by the Gunners and his current club Zenit St Petersburg failed to come out before the transfer window officially shut.

His agent, however, told media that the possibility remains, expecting an exception as the heavy snowfall had brought transport systems across the country to a standstill.

"It was completed in extra-time but we must wait for confirmation (from the Premier League)," Arshavin's representative Dennis Lachter said in an interview with the BBC.

England's top-flight clubs were granted a conditional extension while an email confirming "that a deal has been agreed in principle" must be sent, said the Premier League three hours before the 1700 GMT deadline.

Zenit general director Maxim Mitrofanov earlier told local Russian television the move could still be finalized after a spokesman for the club had said the deal was "definitely off".

"Both clubs definitely want to complete the transfer, therefore the negotiations are still going," Mitrofanov said.

After the stunning win of the UEFA Cup with Zenit last summer, Arshavin shone at Euro 2008 to help his nation's soccer team made the semifinals.

(Xinhua News Agency Feburary 3, 2009)