Well, I promised to write an article on Giroud, didn't I? So here it goes.
I've seen a lot of people praise the Frenchman over the last few days and rightly so: despite all his shortcomings, Olivier has become integral to our style of play, something he once again demonstrated after coming off the bench on Saturday to help us salvage a point.
In the first half Arsene tried a new (experimental) formation with Alexis acting as a pure forward, though he's not your typical fighting machine like Giroud. Sanchez has qualities which are more commonly found among "false nines" - Messi being the prime example, but against Everton the Chilean was basically asked to do Giroud's job. That may well be the reason behind Sanchez' substitution. Sure, Sanchez is an athlete, at the same time he's less of a poacher and fighter. It's early in the day, but my hunch is Sanchez likes to drop deeper to collect the ball and then play it off his teammates, waiting for a pass to send him clean through. That's why it's vital to have the likes of Ozil and Ramsey feeding the Chilean. Even then, though, his style is markedly different to Giroud.
Can it be we've become so used to Giroud, so dependent on the Frenchman, dare I say, that the little experiment with Sanchez didn't work out? I'm pretty sure that's not the end of the story, that Wenger will try again and that eventually we will become accustomed to seeing Alexis up front, but it requires time and work. Most notably, it will call for a total overhaul of our current set-up, which in itself is no small thing. Sanchez hasn't bedded in yet, the understanding of how his partners operate should come with time, but for now Giroud will remain our go-to striker.
So what is it that makes Olivier such an important player for us? All of the above, or, in a nutshell, Giroud's qualities, which are attributed to classical strikers. Operates with his back to the goal to bring others into play? Check. A physical presence that causes headaches to central defenders? Check. A good fighter in the air? Check. Poacher, a kind of fox-in-the-box? Check.
Just look at how most teams operate nowadays. City has Dzeko, Real has Benzema, PSG has Cavani, Atletico has Mandzukic. I'd even go as far as to say that Rooney, Costa and Higuain are more static than your typical nines. Bottom line is, they are a physical presence in the box.
All of that makes Giroud's probable injury scarier still. Guardian reports on how the Frenchman can miss a couple of weeks and the odds are not weighed in the Frenchman's favour to start against Besiktas in two days. Whether that means exploiting Sanchez up top once more, or giving a chance to Campbell or Sanogo is something I'll go over in my usual preview. We'll know more on Giroud's availability in a day or two to have a shot at our formation and, God forbid, the Frenchman's alternatives.
It seems that a lot is riding on Giroud's fitness. First off, our transfer plans. Arsene was quick to talk Olivier's contribution up after the Everton game, while also acknowledging we are well-stocked on players in attack:
It also seems that in this case any departures in the striking area will be vetoed by the gaffer. I'm pretty sure you have heard by now the rumours linking Podolski to Wolfsburg and Juventus. These have appeared after we've been linked to several wingers (Reus being the most prominent), so should Poldi leave, someone will come in.
However, there's nothing concrete on the possible "in" transfers yet, while Giroud's injury is very real and no less troubling. I don't want Arsenal to have unhappy players in the squad, even if their contribution is not the best. If 28 goals Poldi scored in two seasons can be dubbed so. So all fingers crossed Giroud's injury is manageable and all parties will proceed with their respective plans. Which, in their turn, will make everyone happy.
That's it for today. I'll probably get back to you tomorrow, but if not then expect the usual preview on the 26th.
Until later
I've seen a lot of people praise the Frenchman over the last few days and rightly so: despite all his shortcomings, Olivier has become integral to our style of play, something he once again demonstrated after coming off the bench on Saturday to help us salvage a point.
In the first half Arsene tried a new (experimental) formation with Alexis acting as a pure forward, though he's not your typical fighting machine like Giroud. Sanchez has qualities which are more commonly found among "false nines" - Messi being the prime example, but against Everton the Chilean was basically asked to do Giroud's job. That may well be the reason behind Sanchez' substitution. Sure, Sanchez is an athlete, at the same time he's less of a poacher and fighter. It's early in the day, but my hunch is Sanchez likes to drop deeper to collect the ball and then play it off his teammates, waiting for a pass to send him clean through. That's why it's vital to have the likes of Ozil and Ramsey feeding the Chilean. Even then, though, his style is markedly different to Giroud.
Can it be we've become so used to Giroud, so dependent on the Frenchman, dare I say, that the little experiment with Sanchez didn't work out? I'm pretty sure that's not the end of the story, that Wenger will try again and that eventually we will become accustomed to seeing Alexis up front, but it requires time and work. Most notably, it will call for a total overhaul of our current set-up, which in itself is no small thing. Sanchez hasn't bedded in yet, the understanding of how his partners operate should come with time, but for now Giroud will remain our go-to striker.
So what is it that makes Olivier such an important player for us? All of the above, or, in a nutshell, Giroud's qualities, which are attributed to classical strikers. Operates with his back to the goal to bring others into play? Check. A physical presence that causes headaches to central defenders? Check. A good fighter in the air? Check. Poacher, a kind of fox-in-the-box? Check.
Just look at how most teams operate nowadays. City has Dzeko, Real has Benzema, PSG has Cavani, Atletico has Mandzukic. I'd even go as far as to say that Rooney, Costa and Higuain are more static than your typical nines. Bottom line is, they are a physical presence in the box.
All of that makes Giroud's probable injury scarier still. Guardian reports on how the Frenchman can miss a couple of weeks and the odds are not weighed in the Frenchman's favour to start against Besiktas in two days. Whether that means exploiting Sanchez up top once more, or giving a chance to Campbell or Sanogo is something I'll go over in my usual preview. We'll know more on Giroud's availability in a day or two to have a shot at our formation and, God forbid, the Frenchman's alternatives.
It seems that a lot is riding on Giroud's fitness. First off, our transfer plans. Arsene was quick to talk Olivier's contribution up after the Everton game, while also acknowledging we are well-stocked on players in attack:
"We have Sanogo who will be an important asset, we have Giroud, we have Lukas Podolski, we have Joel Campbell who can play centre forward. We have Alexis and Walcott coming back. Let's not forget that".The boss was even quicker to state it's hard to find a better option in an overcrowded market:
"All of our opponents look for strikers as well and nobody finds a world-class striker available who is better than the strikers you have."It's fairly obvious Arsene puts a lot of faith in the players we have (surprising, eh?), but it's also quite evident Giroud is still central to our plans. Sanchez, as I've mentioned above, needs to adjust to his teammates just as much as they need to adapt to him, Walcott is still some way from full fitness. Even when fully fit, Theo (and also Poldi) are not as convincing as Giroud and thus can only be used sparingly, when the opposition allows it. Whilst Sanogo and Campbell are, forgive me, a couple of raw youngsters and the only difference between them is fans' perception. I don't mean their qualities, just their contribution up to this point. So it looks to me Wenger will only splash out cash on a new forward if Giroud's injury is more serious than Olivier himself, or Arsene, thinks.
It also seems that in this case any departures in the striking area will be vetoed by the gaffer. I'm pretty sure you have heard by now the rumours linking Podolski to Wolfsburg and Juventus. These have appeared after we've been linked to several wingers (Reus being the most prominent), so should Poldi leave, someone will come in.
However, there's nothing concrete on the possible "in" transfers yet, while Giroud's injury is very real and no less troubling. I don't want Arsenal to have unhappy players in the squad, even if their contribution is not the best. If 28 goals Poldi scored in two seasons can be dubbed so. So all fingers crossed Giroud's injury is manageable and all parties will proceed with their respective plans. Which, in their turn, will make everyone happy.
That's it for today. I'll probably get back to you tomorrow, but if not then expect the usual preview on the 26th.
Until later