Sport.co.uk can confirm, after consultation with sources inside the club, that Arsenal have signed a pre-contract agreement with Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has courted the Moroccan for the past 18 months and is known to have made a bid for the player's services in the summer but failed to match the required asking-price. Nevertheless, with the 26-year-old available for a free in the summer and able to sign a pre-contract, it appears that Wenger has finally got his man and Chamakh will join his new teammates in the summer.
According to a source close to the deal, thought to be for five years, was signed yesterday afternoon. No official public announcement has yet been made by Arsenal.