Wenger admits interest in Chamakh

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he is considering a bid for French champions Bordeaux’ Moroccan international striker Marouane Chamakh.

The 25-yar-old has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium as a possible replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor, who joined Manchester City for 25 million pounds last week, and Wenger has put the Morocco international near the top of his wanted list.

“We keep an eye on him,” said Wenger on the club’s official website. “He is one of the players that we will follow and if we went for a striker then he would be one of the possibilities.”

Chamakh, scorer of 13 goals last season, said his agent was in touch with a number of clubs, among them reportedly Arsenal, Sunderland, Blackburn, Tottenham and Fulham.

Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc is taking the squad to Canada on a pre-season tour on Thursday and Chamakh indicated a decision might be reached before then.

Wenger also paid tribute to Adebayor and praised the Togo striker’s impact in his three years in north London.

Wenger said: “Firstly, we must thank Emmanuel for his contribution to the club. Whenever he was on the pitch, he always gave absolutely everything to the team and since joining us in January 2006, he produced a number of match-winning performances.

“Emmanuel leaves with our best wishes and we now look forward continuing our preparations for next season.”