Arsenal are keeping faith with Giroud by Sam P.
Whatever the Arsenal fans may think of Olivier Giroud, and the fact that we regularly hear the strains of his name being sung to the tune of Hey Jude by The Beatles suggests that not everyone thinks he is a lumbering donkey with wonky aim, I think we all need to accept the fact that Arsene Wenger has a lot of faith in his fellow countryman.
So those of you out there who have been getting excited, ever since the failed transfer bid for the Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy proved once and for all that the boss was after a new forward in the summer transfer window, need to realise that whoever does come to Arsenal will not be coming as a replacement for the big Frenchman but as competition and cover for him.
Even if it turns out to be the Argentina international Gonzalo Higuain that Wenger signs from Napoli, do not expect him to be an automatic starter while Giroud keeps the bench warm. It has been talked about ever since he first arrived in north London from Montpellier that Giroud brings a lot more to the team than goals.
An Evening Standard report makes it clear that the rumours of Arsenal offering our centre forward to Napoli as part of the deal for Higuain are way off the mark. His performances for France at Euro 2016 should have done his confidence levels the world of good and at 29-years old the striker is at his peak so it would be odd to lose faith with him now would it not?
The way that Wenger has Arsenal set up to play, usually anyway as we dominate possession against all but the biggest clubs we face, means that his power as a target man and his link up play are invaluable in breaking down stubborn defences and bringing the players around him into dangerous areas.
And despite from that horrible barren spell last season, when perhaps the pressure on him to score became too much of a burden, we can usually rely on Olly to get goals as well. His rate of scoring has hovered around the goal every other game mark and that is not too bad, especially when you consider he is not really a goal poacher.
Sam