Premier League News - Arsenal
Gunner’s striker Marouane Chamakh is proud of his Moroccan heritage but credited his development as a player to French coach Laurent Blanc. The striker worked with Blanc while playing for Bordeaux until last season, when both men part ways with the Ligue 1 club for newer, tougher challengers.
Chamakh confirmed his deal with Barclay’s Premier League giants Arsenal while Blanc moved to take over as the French manager, following the sacking of Raymond Domenech. The striker has praised Blanc’s guidance in developing him as a player and claimed that the strategies of Blanc and new manager Arsene Wenger were two rays from the same light.
"To me it was clear that Blanc's main objective was to send us out and play football. He wanted us to express ourselves and enjoy ourselves, as that means we would create chances and score goals. It worked really well,” claimed the 26-year-old Moroccan.
Since joining Arsenal, Chamakh has become a bit of a fan favourite, having already scored 4 times in 10 appearances. The player has suited well to the Arsenal style of play and has not made the outfit miss the services of Robin Van Persie, who has been out of action since the start of the new premier league season.
“He [Blanc] gave me lots of confidence. He wasn't the sort of coach that made me work ten hours a day. Just a few words here and there from him were enough to improve me as a player sometimes,” claimed the former Bordeaux player.
Chamakh has the speed, agility, physical strength and aerial ability of perfect centre forward and is just what Arsenal needed. Having already scored 4 times, the player has a bright future at the club and would want to keep the form going in order to cement his place in the starting XI. With Van Persie due back from injury by the time premier league returns from international break, Chamakh would want to convince the manager to keep on playing him in the first team.
“It wasn't long since he had retired from playing himself, and you could tell that he was still instinctively a footballer and felt the game as we did. I gained a lot of confidence during the three years I worked under him. Thanks to the confidence I got from playing for him, I tried things out on the pitch that I wouldn't have done otherwise," claimed Chamakh in his praise for the current French coach.
Chamakh holds an impressive record in the UEFA Champions league, as his goal against FK Partizan was his 7th goal in 8 Champions league appearances. This is a huge achievement for a player who is playing in his third Champions league season. It has always been believed that playing in Europe is the biggest test for any player, especially for striker. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always been criticized for his inability to impress in Europe, while scoring almost at will in the domestic league. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney or Didier Drogba have had a balanced performance in both the league and European competition and for Chamakh to achieve such a feat so early is a huge achievement.
Great things can be expected from this 6 foot 2 inch striker, who has paved his way into the hearts of many Gunners fans owing to his skill, speed and aerial ability. The player is a natural goal scorer and can use his head or feet to find the back of the net.
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