Andrei Arshavin will bring fantasy football back to the Emirates Stadium if he completes his £15 million transfer from Zenit St Petersburg to Arsenal within the next 72 hours. Out of respect for Zenit, Arsène Wenger has refused to talk about Arshavin’s qualities this season, but he revealed yesterday that the Russia playmaker would provide the creative spark that has been missing from his team if his move goes through before the transfer window closes on Monday.

“In a big club, you are always under pressure to have a player who gives you something special,” the Arsenal manager said. “It’s like that everywhere — at Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal. He can go past people in the final third. He can open the door in the final third. He is experienced and we are a very young side. One more body could help us.”

Many Arsenal supporters would prefer Wenger to buy a defensive midfield player and a central defender, but the Frenchman believes that Arshavin is the player he needs to help his side to end their four-year wait for a trophy. “People always want me to sign better players but many clubs when they want better players come to see us, so that means our players are good,” he said. “We want to play the ball on the ground, move it quickly and we need players who can do that because now we play against teams who have ten players behind the ball.”

Although Arsenal are unbeaten in nine Barclays Premier League matches, Aston Villa’s impressive form means that they have a fight on their hands to qualify for the Champions League. According to Peter Hill-Wood, the Arsenal chairman, that would not lead to financial Armageddon but the consequences of falling short do not bear thinking about, especially for a club who took out massive loans to build a new stadium and turn Highbury, their former home, into flats.

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“Why should we be the club who are always facing a catastrophe?” Wenger said. “Since the first day of the season we have been asked the same questions. Why do you not ask these questions to the other teams? We have spent less than any other team, we make money, we make profit. I’m very optimistic. If on the last day of the season we aren’t there [in the top four] I will answer all of your questions and will accept all my responsibilities. Aston Villa have played very well until now, but you judge a marathon at the end of the race. No one remembers who was leading after 20 miles.”

The Premier League table — Arsenal are fifth, five points behind Villa and eight points behind Manchester United, who are top — would suggest that Wenger’s total belief in his players is misplaced but he is confident that he will prove his critics wrong. “Our future depends on our performances and not on the opinions of other people,” Wenger said.

“You can find 50 million opinions in England, but that doesn’t mean they are right. I want not only to prove everybody wrong but also to prove that I am right to believe in my players and my squad.”

Arsenal’s best player this season has been Robin van Persie and the Holland forward, who has 18 months left on his contract, is set to sign a new deal at the club. “I’m convinced it means a lot to Robin to stay here,” Wenger said. “He wants to be part of the club and of course we have to satisfy his demands as well and I don’t think we’re far away. He knows how much he means to me and we will try to sort it out.”