Arsenal: Olivier Giroud January exit is a conscience buster

Arsenal have not utilized Olivier Giroud like he would have hoped, but to see him leave in January would be an Arsene Wenger conscience buster.

Everyone has something (or some things) that they regret, or wish they would have done differently. Some people in positions of power will tell you they have no such thing, but they are liars. During Arsene Wenger‘s tenure at Arsenal, there are inevitably regrets and there will likely still be regrets. Not even regrets, necessarily, but things that make him feel rather shoddy.

Lucas Perez is one. Wenger openly admitted that he felt sorry for the Spaniard, but it was Wenger who caused that pity in the first place. That is what I would call regret.

But for as terrible as that treatment was – and it’s not even over yet – selling Olivier Giroud in January would have to be an even bigger regret. A conscience buster, as I like to call it. Not even because of how much the big man would be missed, but because of the lead-up to that exit.

Giroud has been the spitting image of loyalty in a world that is seeing a drought of such. He has stuck with a club through some really nasty times and emerged on the other side, better than ever, and being treated less-than-desirably by the one party that always came to his defense – the manager.

It all started in August of 2016 when Giroud was strangely not allowed to start matches, despite declaring himself ready following the Euros. In the process, he lost out on the starting role to Alexis Sanchez, who is certainly not a striker.

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He was used mainly as a sub all year and finished the year with the best goals-per-minute ratio aside for Harry Kane.

Then Alexandre Lacazette came in, but Giroud stood by and said he still had a story to tell. Apparently that story did not involve the Premier League, where he has yet to start a match. But he stuck with the club loyally and declared his love every time he slapped the patch after a goal.

Now, with January approaching, Giroud has finally cracked in the slightest, admitting that he will have to revisit his options going forward, with the World Cup approaching.

All of his Arsenal career he was used – arguably overused – to a fault. Yet he has been undying in his loyalty even when fans despite him. And he knew it too, and spoke of its toll on his confidence. Yet now, with the club in a position to repay him with a bit of playing time that he 110% has earned, they continue to push him away to the point that he is actually considering an exit.

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I can’t imagine it’s been easy for Wenger to decide what to do either. He has always favored the speedy strikers. But if Giroud were to leave in January, I would hope that there would be a good deal of weight on Wenger’s conscience because of it.

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