Arshavin's club, Zenit St. Petersburg, earlier turned down a $23.4 million bid from Barcelona as being "too low," and recently rejected a $42 million offer from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, according to media reports. The club, funded by energy giant Gazprom, has put a $54 million price tag on their talented forward.
Dennis Lachter told the British newspaper The Independent that the 27-year-old Zenit star had refused to travel to Siberia for a cup game against Novosibirsk's Sibir on Wednesday in protest at Zenit's decision. Zenit, the 2007 Russian champions and the UEFA Cup holders, lost the match 1-0.
Zenit have yet to comment on the strike claim.
"Nothing will change because this is the old Soviet Union way," Lachter said. "For the Russian sports establishment the desires of a player mean absolutely nothing. They are the big bosses. It is a dictatorship. He is a slave."
Arshavin, the highest-paid player in Russian soccer, shot to fame after stunning performances against Sweden and Holland at Euro 2008 as Russia unexpectedly made the semi-finals.
The diminutive forward, along with another reported Tottenham target, Roman Pavlyuchenko, was one of four Russian players included in UEFA's symbolic Euro 2008 squad.
