Arsenal flop cost £1m a goal but blames boss for ‘forgetting me overnight’

Arsenal and Crystal Palace meet in the Premier League today for a 2pm kick-off at the Emirates Stadium, and few players have represented both clubs over the years

Arsenal versus Crystal Palace sits relatively low in the London derby hierarchy, yet precious few players have represented both sides.

Marouane Chamakh is unable to look back unfondly at either of his stints, though. The French-Moroccan striker endured a lacklustre three-year spell at the Emirates Stadium following his free transfer arrival in 2010, before another underwhelming trio of campaigns at Selhurst Park.

Across his English football career, he managed a modest 24 goals, with 11 arriving during his debut season. Since neither club paid a transfer fee for his services, Chamakh might escape conversations about the Premier League's biggest flops.

However, he actually cost the Gunners an eye-watering £1m per goal. This staggering figure is because he'd negotiated a £93k-per-week deal after running down his Bordeaux contract, where he'd claimed the Ligue 1 title the previous year.

Despite this damning statistic, Chamakh believed manager Arsene Wenger never afforded him a genuine opportunity. "When I started, it went really well," Chamakh told RMC in 2016.

"I took advantage of [Robin] van Persie's injuries, which cleared my path. I played for six months, I scored goals, I contributed. In January, Robin came back from injury, and overnight I found myself on the bench without any explanation.

"Yes, obviously I'm a little bit annoyed with [Wenger], because I think I deserved more playing time than he gave and promised me. The year passed and at the start of the next season, he told me that the tactical system would perhaps change and that I would maybe start with Robin.

"It was only promises. There was nothing at the end of them. That year, Robin was incredible, he was player of the year. I couldn't say anything, and I wasn't going to go and see [Wenger] and tell him that I should be playing instead.

"Robin was a lot better than me. For the ambitions I had, I think it was a little bit of a lack of respect. I had started well, and overnight he forgot about me just like that.

"He asked me to be patient, told me that Robin wouldn't play more than 10 matches in a row, that he would get injured, but it lasted the whole year. There came a time when I had to make a decision and I left the club."

Such was the enormous cost of Chamakh's wages that Arsenal wrote off the remaining year of his deal and allowed him to join Palace, newly promoted from the Championship, without a transfer fee.

Similar to his time at Arsenal, where he'd demonstrated early potential before rapidly declining, Chamakh began brightly enough with seven goal contributions in the Premier League as Palace safely secured their top-flight status.

Having only penned a 12-month contract, his performances were sufficient to secure him an extension of two additional years. The decision turned out to be a regrettable one and following his release in 2016, he had a brief spell at Cardiff City before eventually hanging up his boots in 2019.

As Arsenal and Palace prepare to face off in north London in a 2pm kick-off today, both clubs can confidently say they are in a better position, both in terms of their attacking prowess and their respective standing in the Premier League.