Is Marouane Chamakh really the answer for Wenger?

There are many questions and complications that lie around Marouane Chamakh’s move to Arsenal, not least the issue of whether the Moroccan striker will move in January. Arsene Wenger in recent days has already ruled out a move for the player in the transfer window next month as the stumbling block of him already playing in the Champions League this season has put off the French manager making a move earlier than the end of the season:

Let’s not dream too much, in January you need to find a world-class player, who has not played in the Champions League, so we need a very good Christmas. I am not a big fan of January, that’s why I say I will be on the market but that doesn’t mean that I will buy. To find the players who have not played in the Champions League, who are world-class, who are available, I wish you good luck. . . . He [Chamakh] is not available, their [Bordeaux's] chairman says that. They are top of their group in the Champions League. Why should they sell him now? They will not get a lot of money [because he is out of contract in the summer].How for their fans can they sell one of their best players in the middle of the season when they are in an excellent position?

But the fact he is out of contract at the end of the season may yet force the Bordeaux club’s hand. They are waiting for the Moroccan to sign on a deal which would keep the player at the club beyond the end of the season. Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud has freely admitted that the club regrets not offering the player a deal sooner. The delay according to Triaud was down to the fact they did not track down Chamakh’s advisor quickly enough to start negotiations and they are now willing to offer Chamakh any sort of deal to keep him at the club. The president has stated they will give him any length of contract he desires, the highest salary at the club and even a low release clause to entice him to sign. Triaud admits there is nothing the French club can do but wait: “We’re not running after him. He has the cards in his hands. It’s up to him to come to us now.”

Time is running out for Bordeaux and there is a very likely possibility that the player will not sign the new deal. He will be free to talk to other clubs in January under the Bosman ruling and Arsenal will no doubt be in prime position to capture the 25 year old. Wenger has been interested in the player as a replacement for Adebayor since last summer but a move never materialised before the window shut. There is still a small possibility that Wenger will buy him in January with striking options as limited as they are, but the most likely scenario is that Chamakh will sign a pre-contract agreement with Arsenal in January. Chamakh has not hidden his desire to play in the Premier League when there was talk of a move last summer:

I want to play in the Premier League and a club like Arsenal would be a dream. If they were to come calling, I would certainly give them a positive answer.

So in the long term, is Marouane Chamakh really what Arsenal need? As I mentioned in another article today, Cesc Fabregas has called on his manager for a “different option” up front who can give Arsenal a new dimension in attack. Is Chamakh that guy? There are some suggestions to say that he is, at 6ft 2 he is not a short striker and there is no doubt he could be utilised as a target man. He is definitely a real threat in the air, something that Arsenal have lacked since the departure of Adebayor. His physique no doubt gives him strength to hold up the ball and allows him to bring others into play, demonstrating in the process his technical gifts on the ball which Wenger believes would ideally fit the Arsenal’s style of play. He definitely provides a different option and I would encourage Wenger to go through with a small bid in January to boost Arsenal’s title chances for the rest of the season. However, there must be a word of caution about the player, although he was Bordeaux’s top goalscorer last season in leading the French club to the Ligue One title for the first time in 10 years, he only scored 13 goals in 34 league games. At 25 he has hardly been prolific as a goalscorer throughout his career and he averages only 1 in every 4 games. This ratio would definitely improve in the team of the quality of Arsenal but the question remains would he provide the goals that would help the Gunners to another league title?