Firstly, I should say that in my opinion our biggest problem is our lack of quality up front. We play a high line, have a team FULL of creative individuals and it is therefore imperitive that we are clinical in front of goal. Wengers previous teams were built around quality strikers. It's the only way an attacking system like this works at the highest level. The problem is Giroud just is'nt simply good enough for a TOP level team. When I watch Giroud I see a guy who works hard to win the ball, hold it up and spearhead the attack. In tight games however against quality opposition he clearly lacks both the finishing skills and technical control to make an impact. For me though he does'nt deserve to be attacked by the fans.(just go check twitter) He tries his best and I applaud him for that. Ultimately this is a guy who did'nt make it into the French top division until he was almost 25 years old. He would never start for a team like Bayern, Barca, United, PSG, City or Real. Not in a million years so the question should be how/why does our manager seem to think he is a capable replacement for the likes of Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie? My point is this.. It's not Girouds fault that he's not good enough. It is Wenger's fault for picking him and we have to question how the manger who brought us players like Henry, RVP, Anelka, Overmars and Pires has lost his ability to identify quality.
The personal abuse aimed at Giroud by Arsenal fans has been pathetic and I'm not just talking about this forum
He doesnt do it out of the goodness of his heart , he gets paid a sh1t load of money to perform . But i will agree , its not his fault , whoever scouted and suggested we buy him needs their arse kicked.
I think he is a good player and has some great attributes to have in the squad which others don't have. But he isn't the top quality forward we want to start for us. He has contributed a lot and I hope we keep him, though as plan b rather than plan a.
Giroud is actually pretty self-aware, as he has come out in the past saying he thinks we need more Strikers. And he could offload some of the work against weaker sides and others as tactically required (ha!) from our future main striker.
There are times when we've really needed to get 2 strikers on the pitch but havn't been able to for obvious reasons. That's why should be keeping Giroud even if it's just as a backup. Despite what people try and claim he did put in good performances in the first half of the season
Of course. It's Wenger's fault by stubbornly refusing to strengthen our squad adequately. Wenger Out.
His movement generally is good, but pur problem is our mids don't see the run or pass it amongst each other and lose the moment. If you look closely at Giroud off the ball he moves well, but the ball seldom arrives where he wants it. Sure he misses his fair share - lots of strikers do, but the service he gets is not as good as those other strikers, so his stats show up poorly. If he got the same number of chances as Dzeko he'd have decent figures. Obviously when he misses the few chjances he gets the crowd see it as his fault. Again, it's Wenger's stubborn adherence to his dogma that is the problem. Odd that a coach who wants his team to play with fluidity is himself so rigid in his own work.
There is also the problem of our midfield players no longer running beyond him and giving him someone to link up with. Ramsey and Giroud combined brilliantly in the first half of the season, and Walcott also had a good link up with Giroud as he is another player that looks to run in behind. The likes of Cazorla,Rosicky and even Ozil never look to run in behind and Giroud is not the sort of forward they like to play with. They want a quicker forward, who stretches the play and gives them more space in the midfield. Now if we had Giroud,Ramsey and Walcott all fit and playing, this would not be a problem, but this is Arsenal, and we do injuries, like no other club.
we are in a league of our own when it comes to injuries http://injuryleague.com/2014/04/arsenal-increase-lead-liverpool-manchester-city-chelsea/ but if we had a bigger squad you are better placed to cope with this situation. we had chance in january window to add to squad [we were top of the table and Rambo had just got injured and theo was already out] yet all we brought in was an injured player on last day of the transfer window.
True. He'd be a fantastic Plan B and honestly right now most of our current problems lie with the CMs, lack of pace on the wings, lack of pressing and slow build up play than Giroud.
Giroud has been great for you guys for two years running. However in both instances, he has run out of steam around the turn of the year. That is not his fault, it is Wenger's fault for depending solely on him rather than buying another forward. The **** Giroud is getting is out of order IMO.
I just don't feel the slow methodical style we're playing nowadays suits him. When we played with pace and utilized the wings with runners off the ball he looked great. I still think he has an Arsenal future. He's on the verge of 20+ goals this season. I'm sure the usual suspects will decry that but I'll ignore them. But you're right he can't do it on his own and Sanogo is far too raw to be an adequate 2nd striker yet (would like to see him on loan for the first half of next season)
totally agree good luck with the run in, can only think if we had bid properly for Suarez and reinforced in january we would be winning title this year
Without Suarez, we wouldn't be were we are so I'd have to agree with that. cheers for the well wishes. I will wish you all the best for the reminder of the season but will also admit to wanting Everton to nick fourth for two reasons: 1) despite being a direct rival I have a soft sport for them (friendly rivalry and all that) plus they've had to do it with zero financial backing, something I very much admire; and 2) because it would mean they have something to play for against Man City in their penultimate game.
I don't think how you are currently playing is your true style. You've missed key players in Walcott, Ramsey (didn't think I'd be saying that) and various others such as The Ox, Flamini, etc through suspension. When you play like you were at the start of the season, Giroud is perfect for you. A big strong lad to lead the line and is good in the air, a true focal point and something you missed before Adebayor and Giroud arrived.
