Arsenal: Olivier Giroud The Final Piece To Wenger’s Puzzle

Arsenal beat Watford without a striker. That’s well and good, but just imagine what will happen when Giroud comes back and completes the puzzle.

Arsenal’s win against Watford showed a lot of things we simply didn’t see against Leicester City. As in, there was a threat to goal. There were bombarding balls over the top and chances being created left and right. It could have gotten far more out of hand, but, not wanting to sound like a broken record, two English wingers could not convert chances or pop up where needed.

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Still though, the improvements were palpable. Mesut Ozil didn’t do it alone either. The spine of that attack, Alexis-Ozil-Cazorla-Xhaka, all pitched in to give Watford absolutely no hope of defending. We finally got to see what Xhaka can do with balls over the top and Cazorla and Ozil were wizards as always.

But the revival of Alexis Sanchez took the cake. He contributed to all three goals and, while Ozil played a massive part, it can’t all be thanks to him. Most of his success came from actually having space. Watford used three at the back for the first half and it was then that Alexis made a killing. He couldn’t be stopped with his link-up play with Ozil.

Then it changed. Watford switched to four at the back and suddenly Arsenal could score no more. The space was simply gone.

This was the third game in a row now where Arsenal played a 4-6 formation. There was simply no striker. Ozil spent just as much time leading the formation as Alexis.

So while so many pieces are clicking together, one key piece is still missing – the big man, Olivier Giroud.

Giroud is used to four backs. He handles them and creates space. It’s what he does. It’s also all he needs to do. As we saw, Alexis and Ozil, when given proper space, can provide all the attack the Gunners need to win games. Anything else is just icing on the cake. Unfortunately, Arsenal had no icing against Watford except for a little squirt by Walcott.

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Giroud won’t be icing, but he will be the baker (loving these analogies). Wenger puts the dough in the oven, but without the proper cooking time, it remains flat. That’s where the baker comes into it. Giroud has to put that dough in the oven and let it rise by giving it enough space to do so.

Okay enough of the baking analogies.

Arsenal was still lacking that presence up top. I was thoroughly impressed by the resurgent chemistry between our two superstars and I was even impressed a bit with Walcott, but the limitations of this attack are still plain to see.

Slot Giroud in up top and suddenly what we saw against Watford in the first half becomes a regular occurrence. Giroud will always require the attention of at least one center back, which instantaneously turns all four-back formations into three backs for everyone else.

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Maybe this will be the year that Oli G gets the credit he deserves.