Hello everyone.
Today is the final part of my player assessment, but first a couple of rather important things happened that I just can't ignore.
To start with, Giroud expressed his desire to extend his contract. The Frenchman's current deal expires in two years, but I don't see why we shouldn't give Olivier a new one this summer. I'll come back to this part later, though.
The second bit involves Fabianski. However sad it is, the elder Pole will leave Arsenal this July, when his contact runs out. He will move to Swansea and I do wonder what it means for Vorm, their current goalie. It's not like Fabianski is going there to sit on the bench, is it?
Anyway, that's for Monk to decide. It's his headache, his choice, so the responsibility lies with him only. On my part, I'd like to thank Fab for the work he's put in for us. He comes across as a decent and honest chap, he never threw tantrums of being only a back-up keeper and his professionalism was clearly visible this year. The Pole knew he would leave at the end of the season, yet his form never dipped and it was in large part thanks to him that we've tasted success in the Cup. Farewell to Fab in his new club, I really hope he gets the regular football he so craves for and fulfil his potential. He's got years in front of him to do so.
And now, strikers. Starting with:
Theo Walcott. Sadly, it's been another injury-ridden season for the Englishman. It took Theo some time to find his shooting boots early in the season, his first goal coming in late September/early October (against Marseille). It would be his last up until December, when Theo would make a glorious comeback, punching it two goals at the Etihad. He scored some more goals, became player of the month, then got knackered again, tearing his ACL against Spurs, just as he starred showing glimpses of promise in the central striker role. Never played after that, the Englishman is on course to miss the beginning of new season and he's definitely out for the World Cup.
Nicklas Bendtner. Everyone thought he'd leave in the summer, the Dane has agreed personal terms with some club, only for Wenger to pull the deal at the last minute. Reason? Well, Mourinho is a jerk. It explains a lot, but particularly in this case he didn't allow Arsenal to loan Ba, so we were left without any back-up. Quite why we didn't sign another striker earlier is anyone's guess, but that's another story.
It meant Bendtner stayed and at one point he didn't look all that bad. Goals against Hull and Cardiff got a lot of fans on his side, but the TGSTEL spoiled everything with his stunt in Copenhagen. He was shuffled out of the squad and will leave without playing for us one last time. I cannot say I'll get emotional about Bendtner's departure, though. Had he not been a lazy and arrogant guy that he is, we would not have so many problems getting him off the books earlier.
Yaya Sanogo. A mystery signing to many, we didn't see the Frenchman at all during the first four months. He appeared out of nowhere in January, was handed surprise starts against Liverpool and Bayern and did well, truth be told. Hasn't scored any goals, but his partnership with Giroud proved effective indeed, despite Sanogo still being very raw and Giroud being a striker with limitations.
Still, Yaya is too young to even play back-up to Olivier. I won't be surprised should we loan him out next season, especially if a quality striker like Morata or Remy comes in. However, I did like what Sanogo brings to the team and I'm beginning to understand just why Arsene had signed this guy.
Lukas Podolski. The German pulled his hamstring during his second game of the season and didn't play up until December. Slowly, but surely, he has been building momentum, something that resulted in Poldi starting all the games in May and a couple in April. Scored a lot (12 goals in 27 appearances), but, unfortunately, it's his defensive work rate, that makes Poldi a bench sub. However, no one will deny the German is a devastating weapon, even if he's used sparingly. Podolski confirmed he'll stay at Arsenal next season and it's a good thing he will.
Olivier Giroud. Ah, yes. The Frenchman has been christened one of our most controversial signings and you can sort of see why. Despite the fact, that Giroud has improved from previous season, it's still obvious, he's far from perfect. He's notched 22 goals and 12 assissts in all competitions this year yet he's got one of the lowest conversion rates in the league. The Frenchman has also become a lightning rod for all our failures in February and March.
However, people are overlooking one simple fact: Giroud is not a top-top forward. I don't mean to offend him, hell no, but we should just accept, that the Frenchman has his limitations. Oh, he didn't live up to Lineker's or Carrager's expectations in February and March? How about him not having Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere and Walcott to feed him and make runs behind his back? Or is it just an inconvenient fact that gets in the way of a crappy good story?
Personally, I don't have a problem with the Frenchman. He was pushed to the limit this season and, despite his return not being as great as we would like it to be, he's become integral to the way we play because of his other qualities. Namely, because Giroud is expert of holding up play and bringing other into it with his neat flicks and one-touch passes.
He wants a new deal? Fine with me. I was scratching my head last summer why Arsene only talks of how any striker we bring in would only complement Giroud, but not replace him, but now I get it. It's not his goalscoring qualities Wenger values so much, but rather the way Olivier glues our play together in a way Ozil, Cazorla or Rosicky can not.
It's easy to see, how a quick forward, deployed alongside Giroud can improve our finishing. Even when paired up with raw and inexperienced Sanogo, Giroud seemed much more dangerous, imagine what will happen, should we bring someone like Remy in. That's a topic for another day, however.
Phew, I'll leave at that. Back on Saturday with an overall review of our season.
Until then
