The Situation
Olivier Giroud has constantly split opinion amongst Arsenal fans. Many have been criticising him no matter what he has achieved whereas others believe it is what surrounds him that is hindering him from recreating the form he had in France before he joined the Gunners. The vast majority want at least one new world class striker in the summer but whether they want said striker to complement Giroud, relegate Giroud to the bench or cause Giroud to leave and therefore be replaced is another matter.
The Decision
Considering the personal issues, supposedly Giroud’s wife wants them to move back to France, should Arsenal resign to fate and sell Giroud, bring in another striker to help him develop or should they sign a striker to replace him in the starting lineup?
The Verdict
I’m struggling over this one. I’ve often been a vociferous supporter of Giroud. He has shown a real ability to score in front of goal but he’s also too often spurned big chances. His lack of pace could easily be complemented with a quick striker partner or more pace on the counter attack but it seems that for the sake of Mesut Ozil, Arsenal need as many pacey players going forward as possible. His aerial ability adds a huge plan B to Arsenal’s play, but it feels that they only use that characteristic of his out of necessity.
Regardless of this, Arsenal could just as easily sign a quality striker (or two) who would score more goals than Giroud would ever be able to. Say Arsenal had managed to sign Luis Suarez and he had scored 29 goals already this season, Giroud would never be able to do that.
Arsenal lack backup to him. Whilst Yaya Sanogo has shown signs of brilliance he is not proven and Nicklas Bendtner should not be an Arsenal player. Supposedly Josip Drmic is likely to sign for Arsenal and he is a perfect second choice striker: young; clinical; the statistics to show it. His goals to games and goals to shots ratios have been sensational in the Bundesliga this season and with the right development under Arsene Wenger he could become a serious world beater in years to come. However in terms of the here and now Arsenal need to aim higher.
Either Diego Costa and Karim Benzema would be the perfect Arsenal signing. Both are quick and are scoring for fun in La Liga. On the Benzema front it would help Mesut Ozil because he knows his game so well. Plus both of them have some pace, which since the injury to Theo Walcott, Arsenal have lacked noticeably recently, which is probably what has cost them the title (as it stands).
For all we know Giroud could be off back home anyway. He clearly wants to get his marriage back on track after the adultery affair (no pun intended) and will be doing whatever he can to please his wife. Perhaps it is best to bite the bullet, make as much profit as they can from him and look to spend big in the summer and forget the whole damned business.
With some quick wingers alongside him Olivier Giroud’s lack of pace would be nullified, however if you add a quick striker in as well as fast midfielders then Arsenal become unstoppable on the counter attack, particularly with the genius of Mesut Ozil behind them. Now that Ozil has had a year to settle in and provide some moments of magic, Arsenal should do everything to allow him to come into his own next season. If that means that certain players are sacrificed to complement him, so be it.
It seems that Nicklas Bendtner will be off in the summer, so if Arsenal lined up next season with striking options of Diego Costa or Karim Benzema, Josip Drmic and Yaya Sanogo it would striker fear into the hearts of other teams.
Money is appearing in the Arsenal transfer kitty and exciting times lie ahead for the Gunners. Perhaps some of the players from the less exciting times should move on to show how much things are changing.
Your Verdict
We regularly pose the same question to our @AFCModiOperandi followers and include some replies in our articles – if you are interested in having your comments in our articles, follow our account and reply to our questions marked with #AFCMO. This is what you had to say about the Giroud situation:
@abbaadamufan: I say complemented, you never know when a plan B is needed.
@Da_Sanchize12: sold. He is a GOOD striker not world class. Yet to show up for the heavyweight fixtures and off the pitch can’t handle UK.
@KevinArtwell: keep him at the club, he has quality. Still need to buy a another forward though.
@Slue_AFC: COMPLEMENTED. Fine he is lacking in consistency but he should not be sold, a backup striker would do, that’ll up his game.
@vishalpopat_: Sold on basis that we buy two top quality strikers, not players who just play up front and hold the ball up, goal scorers.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow Modus Operandi on Twitter @AFCModiOperandi , @LastwordMKovacs, @LastWordOnHugo and @PitchsidePie. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Footy writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
Main Photo:
