Arsenal’s Problems Exacerbated Without Olivier Giroud

After Per Mertesacker’s red card against Chelsea, Olivier Giroud was subbed off for tactical reasons. His Arsenal teammates couldn’t hit a barn door!

In Arsenal’s recent 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, Olivier Giroud’s substitution meant that the Gunners did not have any clinical finishers in the box for their attacks. It changed in a second, just like that. They went from being a team that averages 49% shot accuracy from nine shots per game to a 16.7% accurate team who managed to test opposition keeper Thibaut Courtois just once.

Yes, we know. Arsenal had to play defense because Per Mertesacker got sent off. Against a good team with ten men, one needs center backs to survive counter attacks and a good forward – so it makes some sense that they subbed off an attacker for a defender. But there is no reason to sub Giroud off against a team like Chelsea that is comfortable defending deep.

While Giroud was off the field, Arsene Wenger tried to make space for players to run in behind the Chelsea defenders. Guus Hiddink responded by dropping extremely deep every time Arsenal had an attack. As a result, Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell became ineffective. That left the in-the-box running to Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini. Flamini got more chances than the Welshman, but neither could finish.

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That, and Mesut Ozil was nowhere to be found.

Wenger has got to know his players better, doesn’t he?

Mesut Ozil is not the type of guy to flourish after his compatriot center back got himself sent off early in the match. Due to Ozil’s fatigue from this thick fixture list, it was unlikely he was going to step up as the man for the Gunners. Especially when there were no players on the field that he could pass to who would finish his chances.

When Alexis Sanchez came into the game, it changed a little, but not much. Passing to Theo Walcott – who had zero shots in the match – every time you need a goal won’t work for Ozil.

Speaking of which, why is Theo Walcott left on the field as the main forward – something he is not – against an experienced, physical Chelsea defense? Two of the Blues’ defenders, Terry and Ivanovic, have seen Walcott’s play style for years, and they will have told Azpilicueta and Zouma exactly what to expect from him.