Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck Pairing Can Save Arsenal’s Season

There aren’t many Arsenal players who can avoid the criticism of Gooner nation, and Olivier Giroud is no exception to that rule. From being called a “lamp post” to the constant outcry to be replaced, the hulking Frenchman continues to be under-appreciated.

What Giroud brings to the table is a presence in the box. He’s an outlet for the runs that Alexis Sanchez and (someday) Theo Walcott make down the edges of the pitch prior to launching crosses into the danger zone. Without a large, physical presence in the box, those crosses will fall harmlessly and be disposed of.

While Danny Welbeck is an interesting alternative to Giroud, with superior pace, Giroud’s aerial presence is a weapon that Arsenal sorely miss. The below table compares Giroud’s 2013/14 per 90 statistics with some of his counterparts in the Premier League thus far into the 2014/15 season (courtesy of Squawka).

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I left out Diego Costa because he is on a sickeningly torrid pace this year and I also left out Balotelli because of the excessive zeroes, but up against other aerial strikers, Giroud’s best is better than what we’ve seen out of all of our direct rivals thus far into the season. And with Giroud set to return long before what was originally expected, it’s only a matter of time before we begin reaping the rewards of the Frenchman yet again.

Giroud and Welbeck compliment each other incredibly well, and while a two-striker system would be an interesting tactic for Wenger to employ, it might not be too terrible to give it a shot.

Take this table for example. In it, we compare Danny Welbeck to some other attackers in the Premier League, this time highlighting not their goal scoring prowess, but they’re chances created and contributions to attacks (again, provided by Squawka).

[table id=7 /]

As you can see, Welbeck has more impressive chance-creating stats than most other speed strikers in the league (including Alexis Sanchez). But Welbeck has the physicality and aerial threat that no one else on that table can provide. As such, the potential combo of Giroud and Welbeck is a tantalizing prospect, and one that could mesh incredibly well with speed on the wings and an in-form Mesut Ozil in the middle.

Obviously we’d be sacrificing on defense to afford another striker, but sometimes the best defense is a good offense, and this striker combination can provide that.

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