Arsenal: Olivier Giroud start was tactical, not appeasment

Arsenal nation is accusing Arsene Wenger of bending to the will of Olivier Giroud, but the logic behind that claim is flimsy at best. There’s no sense in it.

Arsenal ran Olivier Giroud out there in midweek against West Ham and, since it didn’t come off directly, people are having a go all over again at our loyal French striker and the manager that had always favored him.

The outcry is that Arsene Wenger bent to the will of Giroud, who had been talking prior to the match about how he needs to reassess his options in the winter window given his desire to feature for France in the World Cup.

I don’t think I could think of a less logical reason to explain why Wenger started Giroud. I really don’t.

Think about it, Giroud griped at the start of last season about being treated unfairly and being given the shaft to the starting role for unfair reasons and that didn’t sway Arsene Wenger. And you’re fooling yourself if you think Giroud hasn’t talked to Wenger about this behind closed doors long before he was saying it openly. That clearly had no effect.

It’s just a feeble attempt at throwing the blame on Giroud again. For starters, can you really blame him for what he said? Because a lot of the reaction out there makes it sound like they don’t like it. Verbs like “whinging” “complaining” and “griping” don’t exactly have positive connotations.

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Giroud has stuck with this club through it all and not once doubted it. He could have found much more playing time at Everton, but he stayed to help Arsenal and he has won us four points through his own exploits (Leicester City, Southampton).

So don’t tell me that he’s crying to the press about being mistreated. He has put up with some crap for this club and for the fans and he has every right to speak out about being unsure if his playing time is going to be enough.

From a tactical perspective, Wenger has been keen on protecting Alexandre Lacazette all year. Even if he didn’t have a groin problem, with matches coming every three matches, there has to be some rotation. Absolutely has to be. We’ve already lost Aaron Ramsey, we can’t lose more. That’s just another reason.

Lastly, I can’t help but think that these are the same people that would be griping if we had gone with Lacazette and he either got hurt or was ineffective for 60 minutes. You’d have people saying “why have we even got Giroud if we aren’t going to use him.”

I know this, because people have said that exact thing before.

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This wasn’t a “bending to” Giroud. This wasn’t a slight on Lacazette. This was a tactical choice. I thought that was obvious, but I guess I was wrong.

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