Arsenal: Olivier Giroud Must Remain First Choice Striker

Arsenal need a new striker, but replacing Olivier Giroud was never a good option. They depend on him too much to pull a switcheroo just like that.

Whether it’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arek Milik, Alvaro Morata (hopefully not), Jamie Vardy, Breel Embolo or someone totally different, Arsenal need to challenge Olivier Giroud with a striker that can match his level of talent.

But they only need to match him. They do not need to replace him. In fact, replacing him amounts to very little. Arsenal have built their attack around Olivier Giroud’s ability to hold up play and a lot of their success is predicated on his ability to create space for Arsenal.

In fact, he is a rather unique striker, by Premier League standards. While many would argue that it is Giroud that is holding Arsenal back from major silverware, I would argue that it is Giroud who has kept Arsenal in contention all these years.

The reasoning is simple. Arsenal controls possession. No team controls more possession than Arsenal and only the two Manchester clubs spend more time in the opposing third than Arsenal. Yet Arsenal is often criticized for not being able to break down a defense.

That does not fall on Giroud. Not at all. Giroud is responsible for occupying defenses and giving his team mates space to break down attacks. It cannot fall directly on him if his team mates don’t live up their end of the bargain.

I realize who I am implicating, so let me clarify. I am not referring to Ozil. Ozil doesn’t score goals. He creates chances. Alexis scores in bursts, but his cold streaks are more responsible for Arsenal’s downturns than Giroud’s are.

Aside from those two, Arsenal have very few probing influences circulating around the outside of the box. Iwobi, Campbell, the Ox and Ramsey all have responsibilities to go where the spaces are but they don’t always follow through and their finishing can often leave much to be desired.

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My point is that it all hinges on Giroud. Against teams that sit back and let Arsenal play their possessive game, there is no room for another striker not like Giroud. And few strikers out there do what Giroud does better than he. Lewandowski and Zlatan are pretty much it.

For those of you clamoring for Vardy, consider some simple figures. Leicester sat 18th in possession last year. They were tied for third in time spent in their own third. So anyone that wants to tell me that Vardy does more than latch onto over-the-top balls has to add so many asterisks to that claim. He is a quick strike attacker that needs offensive bursts to find his success. That’s just how he is.

Arsenal do need someone like that, but they do not need to become reliant on someone like that. That would be to completely change up their ways. They would have to sacrifice the possession part of their game and focus more on quick-hit offensive moves, because expecting Vardy to find space when Arsenal is hanging out, passing the ball around the opposing box isn’t realistic. That’s Giroud’s job.

Arsenal need to overload their attack with forces around Giroud. That’s what got me so excited about Mkhitaryan. Giroud would have weapons to bounce back to from every angle.

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Arsenal needs Giroud. I know how that sounds to most people, but it’s a good thing. Because they have Giroud.

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