Arsenal: Olivier Giroud The Unwitting And Yet Fair Scapegoat

Olivier Giroud has unwittingly become Arsenal’s scapegoat after being hauled off at half-time in their loss to Watford. With the team’s improvement, it is fair.

The first half display was one of the worst that I have had the displeasure of seeing from Arsenal this season. Not one player was a solution to the many problems that Watford were posing, they were mentally complacent and physically weak, overpowered by their domineering, energetic opponents.

What was especially poor was the side’s collective inability to keep hold of the ball. Throughout the game, the Gunners attempted 590 passes, which for those who don’t track such figures, is a massive amount. Of those 590 attempts, 499 were completed, giving a pass completion rate as a team at 85%.

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That, in and of itself, is not a bad figure but it does not tell the whole story. In the abject first half, Arsenal were able to complete just 81% of their passes. In the second, that figure was up at 90%. That is a massive difference and it was, when watching the game, evidently clear that the team were struggling to keep the ball, especially high up the pitch.

At half-time, being two goals down, Arsene Wenger hauled off Olivier Giroud and brought on Theo Walcott, shifting Alexis Sanchez into the central role. There was an immediate improvement from the team as Arsenal began pushing for a route back into the game, one that was found through a side-footed Alex Iwobi finish from a dinked Sanchez cross.

While it is harsh to assign all of the first half issues onto Giroud, and he most certainly was not the primary reason for the difficulties in possession – though, again, he was also not the solution – by virtue of being on the pitch during the struggles and off the pitch during the relative success, the towering Frenchman is quickly becoming an unwitting scapegoat.

Nevertheless, it is now indisputable that the North London outfit look far more dangerous with Giroud on the sidelines. That is not necessarily an indictment on the shortcomings of Giroud. He is a player with a very specific set of skills that, if used properly, can be a major advantage for a team to exploit. But for the current state of the team, Giroud’s lack of mobility and his inability to beat players in wide areas, shackled by a game centred around his strength and aerial prowess, are making the Arsenal attack wholly one-dimensional.

Next: Arsenal Vs Watford: 5 Things We Learned

It is time for Wenger to revert back to the side that brought such great success early in the year, playing with verve and vibrancy in the final third, with great dynamism and fluidity. Unfortunately for Giroud, he simply does not fit that style.

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