Source: Daily_Mail
'Excellent' Chamakh would fit in perfectly at Arsenal, admits Wenger
Arsene Wenger admits Marouane Chamakh has the perfect qualities to fit in Arsenal but is ready to play a waiting game to sign the Bordeaux striker.
The Gunners boss insists the French champions' asking price is far too high, but can't hide his admiration of the 25-year-old.
'He's an excellent player who works for the team and is good with others. These are the kind of qualities we like here.
'But I also have the privilege of an internal solution. Eduardo is returning well.'
After having a £6m bid dismissed by Bordeaux, Arsenal are believed to be ready to return with a £7.5m offer.
This is still half the initial asking price, though Bordeaux have lowered their expectations to around the £10m mark, with Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers still thought to be interested despite signing other strikers.
Chamakh's first choice would be to join Arsenal and the pressure is on Bordeaux as he only has a year left on his £16,000-a-week contract.
'We had an interest in him,' said Wenger, 'but he's rated far too high for us.'
'We must respect the decision of Bordeaux. The player is under contract, so it is up to Bordeaux to decide. They have the right to ask the price they want.
'I'll give myself a few days to reflect. We can still make do with one or two players more. One could be in the defensive areas, and one in the attacking areas.
'Usually the transfer market only speeds up from August 26 up to midnight on August 31 - and especially in the last two hours.'
