Former striker Marouane Chamakh says that Arsene Wenger showed him a lack of respect, benching him after he’d had a promising start to his Arsenal career.
The Moroccan international joined the club in the summer of 2010 on a free transfer from Bordeaux, and with Robin van Persie sidelined he was asked to lead the line.
By the end of November he’d bagged 11 goals, but when the Dutchman was fit again, he was brought back in at the expense of Chamakh, something which obviously still rankles with him.
Speaking to RMC Radio, he said, “Yes it is clear that I am a little annoyed at him because I think I deserved more playing time than what I was given.
“As the year began, at the start of the season, he told me that we might change formation and I would maybe be able to play up front with Robin. They were nothing but promises… nothing happened.
“For the aims that I had, I think it was a little bit a lack of respect. I started well and then the next day he shades me out like that.”
After being dropped he only scored 1 more goal that season, and just another 3 in the following two seasons, so that, coupled with van Persie’s form, meant Wenger’s decision making is hard to argue with.
However, when you start in pretty good fashion and then get dropped, it could be a confidence blow.
Anyway, at this point, it’s not worth worrying about too much. That’s football.
In other related headlines,
Wenger claims lack of goals from Chamakh.
I’ve been to London 4 times in my life, 3 of those times I saw Chamakh at a night club going nuts. It’s unfortunate Wenger benched him when he was in form but the guy was no where near as professional as he should have been.
I live in London and have never seen Chamakh “go nuts”
Where the hell do you hang out?
Clubs
Golaso.
Barcelona showed me a lack of respect when they didnt sign me on a 100k a minute contract. Then i realised i wasnt very good at football. Seriously though, ‘might’ and ‘promises’ are not two of the same thing.
Yeah well he did give you a contract worth about £10,000,000 and presumably a hefty signing on fee when you had all the talent of a pissed-up three-legged shire horse, suppose you have a lot to be angry about. Bullet head.
My thoughts exactly. Thought he looked ok but not spectacular during his first few months, but from the off I never liked he seemed afraid to shoot from more than 6 yards from goal and his link up play was useless.
By the end of Chamakh’s first season I was actually feeling sorry for Bendtner being chucked on the right wing with Chamakh leading the line, and the fact that Bendtner was better than him tells you all you need to know.
Meh
Dick
Wenger’s not obliged to “respect” someone as shite as Chamakh by playing him when he doesn’t deserve a spot. Chamakh, however, is does have an obligation to respect his teammates, the fans, the coaches, the staff, etc, by fucking playing well, and not giving a hissy fit and fucking off to some shisha bar when things don’t go his way. I’m probably more angry than I should be about this, idk why. I just had high hopes for Chamakh when we got him and I think he could have shown more mental strength to fight his way back into the… Read more »
Chamack scored 11 goals before Christmas in his first season at Arsenal? That is a very good goal ratio so I understand why he felt confused and disillusioned about being fazed out. Van Persie was better than him but I tend to agree with Chamack. Wenger has a track record for fazing out players who don’t necessarily deserve to be fazed out. And to the ignorant arse hole who made reference to a shisha bar/cafe, grow up you prejudice moron.
To be fair there is nothing prejudiced about the shisha bar comment considering he actually did that. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2124200/Marouane-Chamakh-pictured-shisha-pipe.html
Yes, but don’t let facts get in the way of someone’s chance to get offended by something.
You don’t need to be World Class Striker™ to earn respect. Working hard/being professional is a different matter.
On the other hand, dropping a player for not believing him to be as good as another doesn’t equal a lack of respect, unless he didn’t give a reason why, or lied about playing him (which doesn’t really seem the case here – he could quite easily have changed his mind on how to use Chamakh after signing him).
Chamakh wasn’t as shit as you portray. He was in fact pretty decent at one point and playing pretty well with that other lost soul Jack Wilshere.
You were just not good for us marouane
I’m also disrespected that Wenger refuses to pluck me out of the north bank every other weekend 🙁
He was a bit unlucky in fairness, but if he’s allowing this to bug him all these years later, you’ve got to question his mentality. Move on, Marouane!
It’s telling — he wanted a change in formation, not because it would serve the team, but because it would serve him. It’s implicit in his comments that he knew he couldn’t compete with RvP. That type of character will always struggle at an ambitious club. I saw him in Vegas that year with all his boys — not a serious guy.
Actually, I can see why he might be upset (though it’s probably time to let it go at this point) but, as Blogs says, that’s football! Nothing is guaranteed.
“As the year began, at the start of the season, he told me that we *might* change formation and I would *maybe* be able to play up front with Robin. They were nothing but *promises x… nothing happened.”
This guy really needs to figure out what the words “might”, “maybe” and “promises” mean.
He deserves to go bald after those haircuts too.
Yeah that bothered me too. When someone tells me they’re considering something as a possibility for the future I usually don’t take that to mean that they’ve promised me that they’re definitely going to do it. Chamakh was not as good a striker as RVP. I’m not comparing RVP to Messi but once Messi comes back from injury and whoever’s playing in his place is playing well, do you think Barca will be like, “you know what Leo, it on the bench for a while.” RVP was our 1 striker before and after his injury and his form once he… Read more »
Stop it please…my breaking heart.
He was shit.
He wasn’t, he really wasn’t.
Santos is who you’re thinking of.
Shocking lid
It was dreadful. If, instead of hair, you use the toupee of a dead rat doused in olive oil, then the manager might question your decision-making.
Don’t be petty, Chamakh. This is football. You can cry about it, but Wenger was absolutely right to bench him for Robin Van Treachery, who was one of the top 5 strikers in the world at that time. Sure he was on a purple patch, but both his previous goal scoring exploits and after Arsenal indicated it was certainly more a purple patch than a baseline level of form. And sure he was unlucky in that one of our most injury-prone player so of recent years went on a near two-injury free run. However your career post-Arsenal had nothing to… Read more »
Haha maybe in hindsight, we should have played him all the way and sold him to united instead.
The pic.
Chamack – “Boss, put some respek on my name!”
Wenger – “GTFOH!!”
I had high hopes for him when he arrived from Bordeaux, and he might have had a better term at Arsenal had it not been for Van Persie. Still, you can’t argue with the decision. Van Persie was easily a better player, and the only time managers ever accommodate tactical formations for the sake of one player is when that one player is truly exceptional. Chamakh was good, but not exceptional.
In a vacuum this is a nothing story, but in context of the current situation I wouldn’t want to see the same thing happen to Lucas Perez.
Chamakh was a fiat uno. Van persie a crocked BMW in a garage..
“I think it was a little bit a lack of respect.”
Clearly picked up at least some tips from the boss then
It is plainly clear that he was not good enough. Bottled it against the top oppositions. If you play for Arsenal with a midfield that will create cakewalk chances, you can score 15 goals even if you are shit. People who are calling him unlucky and down voting the comments who criticize him come from a world where Gervinho might be Messi. Chamakh was at best ordinary, and he couldn’t make simple passes in the game, could not finish whatsoever with his foot and missed many opportunities. Forget dribbling. RVP let’s just accept it was way fucking better than him… Read more »
Couldn’t finish with his foot… he used to go around the pitch in a commando crawl and finish with his tongue.
Jar Jar Binks.
Yeah, what happen when you were at Palace then?
Snood.
Exactly what I was going to say.
I guess his career at arsenal was…………marooned ….to begin with.
Unfortunately for Chamakh RvP was one of the best strikers back then. 4-4-2 was never happening.
But yes, agree that Wenger has a bad habit of favoritsm and fazing out players.
Remember Rosicky, Podolski couple of seasons back when he persistently chose Wilshere to fit him into the 4-3-3 with Ozil on the right.
Same goes for Arshavin (not completely till he became a fatass)
Stupid statement. Shit player like you does not deserve a single respect from a legend like Arsene Wenger. Just be honest with yourself, you’re nowhere near Arsenal’s standard and level. What a moron
Seem to remember he copped an injury round the time of RVP’s come back and failed to find form again.
Ever.
Turns out I have a bad memory.
Don’t think he did get injured just wasn’t preferred.
However, this Guardian article from 2013 explains he was distracted by off field stuff and also shows he has a habit of whining about broken ‘promises’.
In the end, I have to be sympathetic.
He had a very promising start to his career and moving to AFC must have felt like arriving but things didnt click and haven’t been too good since.
He’s probably pretty disappointed.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/22/marouane-chamakh-blackmail-arsenal-palace
Whoops. Forgot the link.
I was a big fan of Chamakh then, I remember him scoring in every other game for Arsenal until A W decided to bench him for some unforeseen reason. He was a promising figure but I think he was disrespected because of the way he came to Arsenal(free agent). If AW had paid about 17 or 20m for him it would have been a different scenario.
RVP was world class and was on fire for 18 months/2 years before the unpleasantness.
This guy couldn’t cut it in the prem and had womb hair.
Lack of respect? No. lack of goals? Definitely.
Awful player.
I did feel sorry for the guy when he lost his place. He was trying so hard but he looked totally wiped out by the time Van Persie came back. He looked completely knackered after every game. It’s a shame it didn’t work out for him as his record at the start was pretty amazing but you kind of got the impression he was punching above his weight. Perhaps if he’d approached the chances he did get with the same attitude he had when he started he would have got his place back. On a side note I’m still confused… Read more »
He was unstoppable once we recovered from 0-4 down to Reading in the Milk Cup. Class finish to make it 7-5. Legend in his own lunchtime. Full respect. On a brighter note, let’s tear Swansea anew one for beating us at the Emirates last season. Trump will abolish interlulls.
Swansea seem to be a bit of a bogey team in recent years. They’re kind of the shit team that always gives us trouble. Used to be Sheffield Wednesday back in the day.
Then later became Bolton.
Then Ch*lsea
Look, it’s nothing near Wenger’s fault here. Most of those 11goals were fortuitous goals, albeit tap-ins. Agree, you must be good at positioning before you can even score tap-ins.
While he was scoring those goals, the other aspects of his games were flaws. Couldn’t hold up play, always hiding away from passes, couldn’t even pass a cup of coffee to a team mate.
The goals he scored overshadowed those flaws ofcourse. But as soon the goals dries up, the real Moron Chamakh came to the fore.
*Shitty player*
Open goalmouths claim lack of respect from Chamakh
I think we all would be pissed if we got scrapped in favour of a backstabbing Cunt like Van Persie. Hehe
Yeah you scored 11 goals, but Chamakh wasn’t that much of a clinical finisher. I remember that header he missed from 4 yards out against Chelsea at the bridge which would’ve given us the lead. RVP came in and showed that Wenger was right.
He was a decent Target man though….much more mobile than Giroud, could beat a man but not as clinical or intelligent as Giroud.
Well he had me at “a little bit, lack of respect” ??
So when the wenger out hoes are not chanting him out they attach their venomous lips at any thing related to Arsenal.
Signing players like Chamakh was one of the reasons we didn’t win anything.
Wenger should have played Bendtner ahead of Chamakh.
The kid just sounds super ungrateful, maybe a victim of circumstance. But in his Arsenal career the stats bore themselves out, and not just the stats. Some of his performances were lacklustre to say the least. In my humble opinion he should reflect more on what he could’ve done to make it work, instead of complaining of broken promises.