Arsenal Vs Manchester United: Olivier Giroud is not the solution

Arsenal have a problem: Alexandre Lacazette will miss Saturday’s match against Manchester United. It is a big problem. But Olivier Giroud is not the solution. And here’s why.

Arsenal have a major problem. It is always the case when games are packed together and the manager does not want to rotate his players. Niggling injuries occur, and key players can miss key matches. That is the case this weekend.

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Alexandre Lacazette is set to miss Manchester United’s coming to the Emirates. Arsene Wenger confirmed that he was withdrawn at halftime with a groin injury and, in his post-match press conference, revealed the extent of the injury:

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"“It is an injury. It looks like a groin injury and he is certainly out on the weekend [against Manchester United]. He might be out for a while.”"

I  do not want to delve into the influence that Lacazette’s potentially extended absence could have on this team. There will be time for that later, and given that there is no clear definition of a timeframe, it would be a little foolish to do so, other than say it is somewhat concerning. In this piece, I specifically want to focus on the United match, and how I feel Wenger should address it with the possible replacements that he has available to him.

The most obvious man to turn to is Olivier Giroud. He came on at halftime in Lacazette’s stead on Wednesday and proceeded to score twice. Not a bad return for a substitute. He has experience of leading the Arsenal line, having done it for four years prior to Lacazette’s arrival, and he is a player that Wenger evidently trusts. But there is one key issue: Movement.

United are a defensively organised and regimented team. They have sizable centre-halves, they are well-drilled, and they are just plain-old, good defenders. And in a game that Arsenal may not dominate possession, as they are used to doing, having a back-to-goal, hold-up-the-ball type striker like Giroud does not necessarily help. The Gunners need a mobile, more subtle striker, who can pull the centre-halves out of position, stretch the channels of the game, and begin to create space for others around him through their movement.

It has been made abundantly clear in Lacazette’s starting that this Arsenal attack thrives off of fluid, interchangeable, and intelligent movement. For all of Giroud’s abilities, that is something that he cannot offer. He simply doesn’t have the mobility for it. Wenger must look to other options to provide a far more free-flowing attack that could exploit the spaces that United will suffer from on the counter-attack.

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I would much rather see Wenger utilise Danny Welbeck as a central striker, like he did in the FA Cup final, or shift Alexis Sanchez into a central role and field Alex Iwobi, Welbeck, or even Jack Wilshere on the left-hand side. Giroud is a good player when used correctly. But he should not be starting for this football club, especially in a game like Saturday’s. It would be a huge mistake.