Arsenal: Olivier Giroud’s vacancy won’t be filled with current stock

The sale of Olivier Giroud left Arsenal short of a striker an aerial striker which also leaves them short of an alternative plan when Plan A is failing.

Arsenal have gotten rid of a player that had very unique qualities at the club, that no other striker did. Olivier Giroud was sold to Chelsea over the January transfer window which saw the departure of Arsenal’s very trusty plan B.

A very satisfying 5-1 win over Everton could be the start of many more high scoring victories for the Gunners as the rapid attacking forces of Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, combine their attacking artistry to overcome their opponents.

Whilst the win was very entertaining, it may not be realistic to be winning games with a similar scoreline, and sometimes games will not be as free-flowing, therefore needing an alternative plan.

The January transfer window saw the departures of many faces that had been at Arsenal for a while with the likes of Coquelin, Sanchez and Walcott freeing up the wage bill for the new incoming world class talents Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang.

One other departure which was very painful to many Gunner faithful was the sale of Olivier Giroud to Chelsea for £18 million pounds in the final hours of transfer deadline day. The reason why the sale was a sad one was because Giroud always guaranteed goals and he was our alternative plan.

Sure Giroud would never be a 25-30 goals a season striker, but the purchase of Lacazette and Aubameyang took the responsibilities from the Frenchman to be that striker.

It’s worth noting both Lacazette and Aubameyang are known for their pace and their clinical finishing. Unfortunately, what they don’t offer is the aerial threat that Giroud did, leaving Arsenal’s attack short of height and strength.

You could argue that Danny Welbeck is still available for that role, but lets face it, if Welbeck could score half the amount of goals Giroud was able to during an entire season than the North Londoners would’t be sitting in 6th position on the table after missing many game winning opportunities.

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Giroud was never the striker to take the club forward and lead them to titles, but he was by all means a very good and reliable striker when called upon. The Frenchman has scored 27 headed goals since the 2012/13 Premier League season, the most of any player.

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The former Montpellier striker was also notably very reliable from the bench, scoring 17 goals as a substitute, which again is the most from any player since the 2012/13 season. What makes this stat even more incredible is that the person second on the list is a good eight goals behind the leader. The most important stat of course is the 105 goals in 253 appearances for the reigning FA cup Champions.

While the sale of Giroud did and should hurt Arsenal fans, it’s easy to understand why the player left. With the number of strikers at Arsenal and the big money signings of Aubameyang and Lacazette, Giroud’s days as first team striker were surely numbered. Therefore moving to a club where he could be first or second choice striker only made sense. Also with the world cup coming up, the French International is in need of playing minutes to make sure he’s on the plane to Russia with the French squad.

It begs the question of what this club will do when cutting through the defense or catching teams on the counter attack has failed. Can Arsenal find a winner in the 92nd minute when scores are level and the crosses start flying into the box?

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Whilst Aubameyang is not short, standing in at 6’2″, he’s not necessarily known for his headers. And with Welbeck it all comes down to being able to hit the target and actually scoring before he becomes a plan B.