Bordeaux want ‘agreement’ with Arsenal over Chamakh
ARSENAL have been given fresh hope in their bid to sign Marouane Chamakh, after Bordeaux hinted they are ready to slash their asking price for the Morocco striker.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has had a £6m offer rejected but is refusing to go higher for a player who will be able to leave for nothing in 12 months when his contract expires.
Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud had adopted a hard-line stance, demanding £15m for Chamakh, but, with the 25-year-old desperate to leave for the Emirates Stadium, is now showing signs of caving in.
“It’s up to Arsene to see what he wants to do. What I am hoping for is to reach a gentleman’s agreement,” said Tiaud. “It’s always been clear between Chamakh and us. If there is a team in the big four we will look at it. But on terms that are acceptable to Bordeaux.
“It’s always tough to work out the value of a player. Sometimes the value corresponds to the number of clubs interested in him. In this case there are several. The moment a player says: ‘I’ll go there and nowhere else’, it’s easier for Arsenal. Chamakh’s dream is to join Arsenal and that’s understandable. He’s grown up with our club, and we want to please him.”
Triaud also revealed he wrote to Sunderland manager Steve Bruce to apologise, after saying the Black Cats, who were willing to pay more for the forward than Arsenal, were not a big enough club to sign Chamakh.
“When I saw Steve Bruce’s reaction – he said he didn’t understand and that we’d insulted Sunderland a bit,” Triaud added. “I sent him a little letter telling him that it was a misunderstanding and that we never said Sunderland wasn’t a respectable club. We expressed ourselves badly and we apologise. It’s a matter of courtesy.”