Clubs: FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Arsenal FC

• Joined the Bordeaux academy at 16 and made his professional debut in January 2003 in a French League Cup game against FC Metz; scored four goals in eight UEFA Cup games in 2003/04 and ten in the following season's Ligue 1 campaign.

• A French Under-18 international, Chamakh decided to play senior international football for Morocco, the birthplace of his parents, and made his debut in July 2003; played in the final of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, but finished on the losing side against hosts Tunisia (1-2).

• Not generally renowned for his prolific marksmanship, he nevertheless scored a career-best 13 league goals in 2008/09, matching fellow striker Fernando Cavenaghi's output for the season, as Bordeaux ended Lyon's stranglehold on the French title; also lifted the French League Cup for the second time in three seasons.

• The striker's progress continued the following campaign as he scored last-gasp goals in successive UEFA Champions League group wins against FC Bayern München and Juventus; was also in target in the next round, helping Les Girondins reach the quarter-finals.

• Became the latest in a long line of Ligue 1 recruits when he joined Arsenal on a free transfer on 21 May 2010.

• Settled instantly, scoring in the Gunners' first three UEFA Champions League group matches and hitting the target freely in the Premier League.