Arsenal: All Eyes On Olivier Giroud Against Southampton
Arsenal will finally be welcoming back Olivier Giroud, so drama is likely to ensue. There are so many reasons why all eyes are on the Frenchman.
International break is finally winding down to a close as Arsenal return to action against Southampton. There is a lot to be excited about. We have a brand new striker in Lucas Perez and a brand new defender in Shkodran Mustafi.
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And yet, against the Saints, all eyes will assuredly be on Olivier Giroud. For numerous reasons.
First of all, Everyone is always looking for a reason to gripe about Giroud. A single misstep and he’s suddenly no better than Yaya Sanogo on crutches.
Even aside from that though, there’s been a lot going on with Giroud lately to make us watch even more closely. I’d like to think that people will be watching to see how well he creates space, especially seeing how well he did it at the Euros, but I know better than to expect that.
Instead, they will be waiting to see how he adjusts after having his missed shot on international break be blown ridiculously out of proportion. No one seemed to care about Griezmann or Pogba not doing so well because Giroud is just the easy man to point at.
Then there is the matter of Giroud coming out and speaking rather openly about how Wenger would have brought him back sooner if it had been a priority. Which got me wondering – is Olivier Giroud still a priority?
He seems to always be in Wenger’s good graces, yet if a tactical switch really is in order and Wenger has seen what he likes in this new switch, than Wenger’s eyes may be fixated on Giroud and how he handles it as well.
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Naturally, there is also the matter of Giroud actually having pressure on him at long last from another striker. Lucas is here, he is healthy and he is ready to go.
This isn’t a Danny Welbeck situation where he could develop into a striker. Lucas is a striker and Giroud will have to do himself justice (despite how much he has already done) if he expects to hold this role as much as he is used to.
What it comes down to, whether it’s fair or not, is goals. Giroud has to score a goal against Southampton. There will be hell to pay if he doesn’t. Even if it’s his space-creation that allows Alexis to get in on goal and score and a knock-down header to Walcott that he gives off to Ozil for a goal, none of that matters. If Giroud doesn’t produce hard stats, there will be calls for his removal.
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Then again, he should be used to that by now.
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