Can Marouane Chamakh revive Arsenal career?

The Moroccan striker scored two impressive goals in Tuesday night’s thriller at the Madejksi Stadium. Arsenal looked dead and buried after an abysmal first-half performance that saw them 4-0 down just before half-time.

A hat-trick from Theo Walcott, and two headers from Frenchmen Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny saw the Gunners pull the game back to 4-4, forcing the game into extra-time where they took the lead 5-4.

Reading pulled one back in the 116^th minute, before Chamakh had the chance to the finish the game with Arsenal seventh goal, and his second of the night.

Chamakh has suffered a severe loss of form, fitness, and confidence in the last year. After making an impressive start to his Emirates career, scoring 11 goals in his first season in 2010/11, he then found himself playing second fiddle to last term’s PFA and PWA Player of the Year Robin van Persie.

Subsequently, he made just 11 Premier League appearances for the North Londoners in 2011/12, majority of which were from the substitute’s bench and he managed just one solitary goal.

This season he made just one previous appearance, also in the Capital One Cup but again failed to find the net.

However, the striker may now feel inclined to reject a January move to French Ligue 1, opting instead to fight for his place at the Emirates.

He looked set to make a move in the summer, back to former club Bordeaux but his wage expectations were thought to have scuppered his chance of a move.

He’s now linked with January switches to Fiorentina, Liverpool, Juventus, and Blackburn Rovers but perhaps there’s light at the end of the tunnel for the 28-year-old who might yet live up to his promising expectations at Arsenal.

Having found his shooting boots in midweek, might Arsene Wenger be prepared to give the player one last shot?

image: © Ronnie Macdonald