Arsenal: It’s time to bring Olivier Giroud back home

Arsenal might have a striker conundrum coming up in the summer, but it doesn’t have to be. There’s this guy, you see, his name is Olivier Giroud.

Arsenal are pretty set in terms of starting strikers. Between Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they have two world class strikers who can change a game in an instant. The club doesn’t need to go after their two strikers, not at all.

The third striker though, that’s another story. All year, Danny Welbeck had been doing the role, stating his case, making it clear that he was going to be a prime candidate to hold the role and earn himself a new contract. He certainly fit the Unai Emery aesthetic of hard work and determination.

When he went down, the mantle fell to Eddie Nketiah. With rumors swirling that Welbeck would not be given a contract, the mantle was passed to the legendary “Eddie.”

The question is now if we trust Nketiah enough to be the third striker. Like, the third striker. To be counted on to be the rotational option if we roll with two strikers and that isn’t enough. And that’s a big question to ask of a 19-year-old.

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Even if Nketiah proves himself this year, and looks steady, will we be convinced? I want nothing more than to trust the young man completely, because he is clearly such a talent, but there is a multipart reason for why we shouldn’t just hand him the sole reigns to the third striker role.

And that reason starts with Olivier Giroud.

It was heartbreaking to see him leave in January. But the bright side was that he was only getting a one-year contract at Chelsea, meaning we probably wouldn’t have to see him in blue beyond that – if everything went accordingly.

Welbeck’s unfortunate exit and Nketiah’s youngness puts the Gunners in a prime position to bring a Gunner-at-heart back home and give him what he so deserves – a chance to win big time trophies at the club he loves.

Giroud only has another couple of years in him. Enough years to help Nketiah come into the mix, enough years to help this club to the promised land he so desperately wanted under Wenger. I mean, does anyone really doubt how good he would be if you put the red back in him? Because I don’t.

Think of it like another Lichtsteiner move, where we are getting far more than just an old-timer. We are getting someone who bleeds for the game and the shirt that he wears. Bring. Home. Giroud.