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Arsenal Cannot Score Without Olivier Giroud
By Josh Sippie
I remember criticizing Chelsea last season because it was pretty apparent that they could not score consistently without Diego Costa. It was like two different teams depending on if he was on the pitch or not. Loic Remy was no sort of substitute and crossing the ball was a futile endeavor without his aerial prowess leading the line.
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I have now come to the conclusion that Arsenal cannot score consistently without Olivier Giroud.
The oft-criticized striker is the focal point of Arsenal’s attack and as soon as he came off the pitch against Liverpool, Arsenal’s attack lost all its venom. And yes, it did indeed have venom at one point.
Giroud was responsible for two shots on target, one of which required a stellar save by Simon Mignolet. That was half of the teams accurate attempts. Many out there will say he should have converted them and that Benzema would have scored three goals from his two accurate attempts, but the attempts that Olivier Giroud did have were worthy attempts that could have beaten a lesser keeper, and probably Mignolet as well on a different day.
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Taking Giroud out before the 70th minute was a blatantly wrong decision, particularly given how well Arsenal were attacking at the time. They were pressing the goal and Olivier Giroud’s physical presence was doing enough to Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren to allow the Gunners space in the box to maneuver. Crosses and set pieces were a threat because Olivier Giroud is the best aerial target in the league.
Once he came off the pitch, Arsenal lost all of that. They no longer had any presence in the box as Theo Walcott was suffocating. Crosses were pointless and set pieces were toothless. Theo Walcott is not of any use when Arsenal are pressing the opposing goal so closely. Walcott’s best usage will be found when Arsenal are being pressed and forced to resort to counter attacking.
Olivier Giroud should have played the full 90. If Arsene Wenger wanted to score that badly, he could have employed his biggest fear – a two striker system. That way Giroud could have maintained his hold-up play and sprung some runs for Theo Walcott like no one else is seemingly able to do. The speedy Englishman managed four touches and was one for one in completed passes in his 25+ minutes of play (via WhoScored.com).
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Against Crystal Palace, Giroud played the full 90 after his stellar goal and Arsenal’s attack remained relevant throughout. Alexis may have scored the 54th minute goal but it was not solely thanks to him. What is easy to miss on that goal is that the only reason why Alexis only had one man to beat was because Giroud was ten feet in front of him with three defenders marking him. Without the box presence of Olivier Giroud in that situation, Arsenal do not score.
Sacrificing Olivier Giroud for Theo Walcott will not work unless we find ourselves in counterattacking situations. The Frenchman is essentially the only man we have that will consistently put shots on target and as we have seen in the past, he will convert opportunities. The more opportunities we give him, the move likely he is to convert them. A two striker system could have benefits when a goal is needed, but Wenger seems wholeheartedly opposed.
Newcastle is next and given what we have seen so far, lets hope Olivier Giroud is allowed to last the full 90 minutes.
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