ARSENE WENGER is stepping up his bid for Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh.But he faces a dogfight with Arsenal's bitter rivals Spurs. SunSport understands that Tottenham have stolen a march on Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool by matching Chamakh's wage demands of £55,000 a week NET.
The Frenchman is available on a Bosman from New Year's Day but would not be able to join any new club until the summer. Wenger desperately needs a target man with Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner out.
He could yet try to sign Chamakh from Bordeaux in January but would have to cough up a fee of around £5m.
A source close to the deal said: "Wenger has made it clear to Marouane and his agent he still very much wants to sign him.
"But Marouane doesn't want to go to war with Bordeaux again like he did in the summer when Arsenal didn't match their valuation. So the player prefers to sign a pre-contract and go in the summer."
Wenger is also waiting to pounce for highly-rated France hitman Jimmy Briand.
Rennes' hugely-gifted secondary striker Briand, who is also fancied by Marseille, is now running down his contract.
And given he is a near cert to make the World Cup, getting him for nothing will be a huge coup for the astute Wenger.
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