Arsenal Boss Arsene Wenger Retains Interest In Girondins De Bordeaux Striker Marouane Chamakh

Goalscorer admired by Gunners' manager

By Alan Dawson

Ligue 1 : Marouane Chamakh (Bordeaux)

Girondins de Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh, a fundamental part of Les Marine et Blanc's successful Ligue 1 campaign last season, could be destined for a summer move to Arsenal, as - despite the formal closure of the winter transfer window - Arsene Wenger has retained his interest in the Morocco international.

Chamakh is available on a free transfer this summer and has attracted interest from a clutch of European sides that allegedly include Real Madrid, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

However, the player recently confirmed that his club of choice would be the Gunners, and it is a love affair that is reciprocated by Wenger.

He told French television channel Canal+ : "In life you should achieve your dreams, above all you should try for them.

"We do like him a lot, but the day we sign him - we will let you know."

Thanks to an injury crisis up front, Arsenal have been forced to deploy diminutive attacker Andrey Arshavin in the central striking position. Creative forward Robin van Persie sustained a long-term ankle injury while on international duty with Netherlands last November, while Nicklas Bendtner too has been sidelined.

Wenger failed to acquire a striker in the mid-season market, but when the transfer window reopens for trading in the summer, a swoop for Chamakh appears increasingly likely.

Chamakh was reported to have told L'Equipe earlier in the month: "My future? Well, I hold all the cards… my choice is to join the Premier League and if I could choose, I will go to Arsenal."
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Hosted by Stephen Crawford & Adam Scime
2/15/12
And with that, we're going to call it a night, folks.

We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!

Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.

From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!

2/15/12
All this focus on the Arsenal and Milan game should not take away from another cracker earlier tonight between Zenit and Benfica. The Russians came from a goal down to lead 2-1 in the closing minutes before Oscar Cardozo levelled things for Benfica, but it wasn't over there as Roman Shirokov won the game for Zenit in the 88th minute.

Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
2/15/12
Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny bemoaned his side's luck tonight but refused to give up. Here's some of his quotes:

"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.

"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.

"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."

Full story HERE


2/15/12
Another Milan player who was willing to share his thoughts after the match was Mark van Bommel, who has urged caution ahead of the second leg in London.

“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.

(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)

“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.

“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.


Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.

“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.

“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”


2/15/12
Next up is the Milan maestro Clarence Seedorf. He only managed 12 minutes on the pitch, but watching from the sidelines he was delighted at how his team mates had dominated the game.

"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."

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