When Van Persie is not fit, who should lead the Arsenal attack?

Chamakh opened at 52% on day one, closed at 50.9% two months later — a share that barely moved across 61 straight days of voting. He needed every point of it: his 1,808 votes beat Bendtner and "play both" combined by just 62, an outright majority the rest of the field never got within shouting distance of erasing.

The real contest was for second place. Bendtner held that spot alone for three and a half weeks before "I would play both of them" edged past him around day 25 and stayed there — a slow-motion swap nobody watching the top of the poll would have noticed. Geography told its own story: Denmark backed its own man, but the UK and US both went for Chamakh.

• Majority, barely · Chamakh's 1,808 votes edged the other two options combined by just 62.
• Frozen at the top · Chamakh's share held 51-52% for all 61 days.
• Quiet swap for #2 · "Play both" overtook Bendtner around day 25 and stayed there.
• Denmark's holdout · Only Bendtner's homeland leaned toward him; UK and US favored Chamakh.