It’s hard to argue that Marouane Chamakh had a successful time at the Emirates. The Arsenal forward has deservedly been labeled a ‘flop’, but it should be remembered that he’s a player that has shown a lot of promise throughout his career.
During his last two seasons at Bordeaux, prior to his Arsenal move, he bagged 16 goals each year. A fairly good, if not startling return.
Then there came the first six months after he arrived at the Emirates.
At the time, Robin Van Persie was out with a long-term injury (remember when he used to be a perennial injury doubt – I’m sure Arsenal fans secretly long for these days now) and it was up to Chamakh to step up and provide the goal threat.
It was something he handled extremely well. He looked confident in front of goal, linked up neatly with the midfield and turned out to be a fantastic stand-in.
Unfortunately for the Moroccan, his career took a serious nose-dive when RVP returned to the first-team and forced Chamakh to spend the majority of his Arsenal career warming the bench.
His confidence was sapped, his finishing went missing and nowadays when he makes the odd appearance, his ball control even seems to be lackluster.
As a result, he has no future at a club like Arsenal. The time has come for him to move on and try to re-build his career.
As we know, he’s now moved to West Ham, where I believe he’ll be able to recover his form and re-establish himself in the Premier League. But, as things currently stand, I feel like I’m the only person who believes this. Check out this Tweet from the son of the Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan, Jack Sullivan:
“I am very sorry about this news Chamakh has sign a 6 month loan deal! not my pick,” he tweeted.
I feel this is a little unfair. Yes, I understand that Chamakh isn’t the most exciting signing, but what happened to getting behind a player and welcoming him to the side?
Anybody who saw Chamakh’s two finishes against Reading in the Capital One Cup earlier this season will attest that there’s life in the old dog yet. But the only way West Ham will get the most out of Chamakh is to offer him their full support.
What’s your take? Is Chamakh an out-and-out bad signing for West Ham?
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