Arsenal: Lucas Perez Should Not And Will Not Start Over Olivier Giroud
Arsenal does indeed have a new striker on the books in Lucas Perez but just because he is here does not mean he will replace Olivier Giroud. Nor should he.
Most of the experimental ‘Arsenal starting XI’s with Lucas and Mustafi’ seem to have everything nailed down just the way it should be. Mustafi slots in next to Koscielny. Alexis is back out wide. Xhaka and Cazorla share the middle.
But there is some debate over who starts up front and I find this utterly silly. While I am thrilled that Lucas is here and beyond excited to see what he can do, he is not here to replace Olivier Giroud. Wenger would never replace Olivier Giroud unless warranted and, dare I say it, Olivier Giroud does not need to be replaced.
Through the first three games of the season, one of the main things that stood out as a problem was the lack of a presence up front. Alexis simply was not capable of creating for himself. In the first half against Watford he did, but that was with three defenders. When they switched to four at half, he was suffocated and pushed out again.
Giroud has made his underappreciated Premier League living by creating space when their are four defenders. And while he is not going to be able to latch onto balls over the top, Arsenal doesn’t really need that ability as of yet, as they are still a possession team. They need that target man in the middle to field crosses as well as pull away the defense for Alexis and Ozil to find space.
Plus, Wenger is the crowned king of having faith in his players. Remember Wenger’s faith in Walcott? He has that in Giroud too, although better placed, I may add.
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That’s not to say Lucas will disappear. Not a chance. He will be that late impact sub at the start and he will be used in those secondary competitions. But even then, once he gets into a rhythm scoring goals against European competitions, it will take one heck of a turn around for him to take the mantle from Giroud, who is a proven Premier League entity.
Especially given how much Wenger refuses to make changes. With a proven striker in Giroud holding his own in England and Lucas making his runs in Europe and scoring goals against frequently inferior competition, Arsenal will have a set formula on both fronts to ensure that everyone stays fit and fresh for the next match.
This is what depth is supposed to feel like. For too long Arsenal has had to stretch their players out for two to three games a week and it lead to poor fitness levels and injuries. Lucas Perez is a massive piece to solving that. He is not a replacement. Not like Mustafi is.
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