Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell has heaped praise on Olivier Giroud, despite his style not pleasing to the eye for all concerned.
The 30 year-old knocked in his 100th goal for our club last night, bettering records of Robin Van Persie and Dennis Bergkamp in the process, as he helped us on the way to a 4-2 win over BATE Borisov.
Arsenal are now well on their way to qualification to the next round after two wins from two, but the strikers milestone appears to have taken all the headlines instead of the win.
“He’s not everybody’s cup of tea is Giroud but he’s always there when it counts,” Campbell said.
“He starts for France instead of Lacazette.
“I think he’s a very underrated player and I’d like to see him and Lacazette together to be honest.
“But the squad may be can’t accommodate both of them.”
The former Lyon striker has usurped Olivier as the first choice option this term, having arrived for a club record fee during the summer, and that decision is yet to be proved wrong.
Lacazette has scored four goals in his six Premier League appearances thus far, albeit whilst having only completed the full 90 minutes on one occasion, and is already showing signs that he will prove to be a quality signing.
Giroud remains a challenger for the starting role however, having remained consistent in finding the net since joining from Marseille back in 2012, but his failure to beat his record of 16 league goals in a seasons since moving to England is likely what led to the club investing further.
Could Giroud and Lacazette play together in a front two? Would a formation change accommodate both in the starting XI?
Pat J
Can they??? YES!!! YES THEY CAN!! the way France uses 2 upfront, Griezzman n Giroud.
we can use Laca n Giroud..
Honestly since Lacazette has shown he’s very fast and quick to run in for pass, I can see Giroud assisting him a lot with his one touch passes n flicks.
Will Wenger try it out? I’m not sure, instead he’ll choose to move Lacazette to the wings.
Yes, Lacazette could be more prolific if accompanied by a tall and strong target man like Giroud. They could form a good combination in the front, because they could communicate better, since both players are French.
But a formation change is needed, to accomodate both of them in Arsenal’s system. Lacazette could surprise the opponent’s defenders by popping out from behind Giroud and let Giroud draws the attention of the opponent’s defenders.
The idea could work, but I prefer to see more skillful attackers added to Arsenal than relying of Giroud’s height and strength.
Giroud signed from Marseille? hmmmm, could you cite your sources on that one! : )
Exactly! Try Montpellier mate!
You have good reasons to question the team from which Giroud signed. In fact he was bought from Montpellier. Gooner for life!
Both Lacazette and Alexis could do it very well, say if we just went long all of a sudden with those two feeding off Girouds crumbs, even Pulis would get night sweats. It’s not the football I like to see, and I much prefer watching Lacazette working inside the box and Alexis taking players on. France have very strong midfielders, all mostly good passers.
Not with our vulnerable holding midfielders,we need to play Kant’s type of midfielder if we want take that risk,eleny and shaka don’t retrieve ball from opponent,they run around the field all the time,giroud has prove himself but is time we look beyond him and sign quality players next summer
I’d like the see Aresnal play with two upfront, but that’s not going to happen. Arsenal should start going Ancelotti right now in preparation for later on in the season when things inevitably fall apart and everyone turns against Wenger again. As of now, things are going exactly as they always do. Bad start to season, followed by that period of time where us fans get to blissfully forget about what a mess the entire club is, until around November. And then Jan-March is just disaster. Enjoy this period of the cycle folks.
Yes. I think Lacazette and Giroud could work and be very successful partnership . They won’t be Henry and Bergkamp but they can be successful together. Also Lacazette and Alexis.
However, my biggest concern still seems to be our central midfield. That is the major area that will keep us out of the Top 4 most probably. We lack defensive quality and creativity in Central midfield.
Speaking of Giroud, once again I’d like to congratulate him for his milestone, but I hope he can increase it by a lot this year
What’s the point? If fit, at least one of Welbeck or Sanchez plays behind a striker. It is a bit rediculous to have Giroud and Laca and then one or both of Sanchez and Welbeck to accommodate too. I know we’re inefficient but can’t have that many strikers in the pitch!!!!!!
Laca and giroud with alexis behind them would make sense
Just because a certain guy called Kevin Campbell says so, then everyone says yes. Lava scored 4 goals in 6 games. Giroud scored 100 goals in how many games? Butting RVP and Bergkamp
Please don’t insult the Dutch maestros by comparing them to Giroud. His time is up, he doesn’t have skill and he plays boring football. He should try his luck in teams fighting relegation. Arsenal should change formation just to accommodate Giroud? Don’t waste our time with things that will never happen
Stats of Girouds Arsenal career tell us he has scored his 100 goals in 237 games, one less than Van Persie. BETTER STILL HE SCORES EVERY 149 MINUTES, ALLOWING FOR SUBSTITUTES GOALS ETC. This equates to 9 goals every 15 games. One in two, long term is generally considered good , so 9 in 15 is better still. Yes, stats can be made to prove anything, I do realise . But these are pretty good, don’t you think? I do!
Sorry, but to me, Giroud is not only an average starter (but a good sub, he also brings the level of the entire team down.
People keep speaking about France but Giroud only gets minutes there because Benzema has been ousted as a result of the blackmail saga. Ask yourself would Giroud start at Real ahead of Benzema? No, never in a million years.
France is not a good team and Giroud is part of their problem. They hosted the Euros and had by far the most talented team yet as hosted and on paper the best squad they lost to a poor Portugal.
If Giroud was a world class striker he would have scored more than 16 goals for us in a PL season. By the looks of it even Wenger rates Laca higher despite Laca’s obvious physical shortcomings.
Why do we have to start tinkering with our line-up? We are on an OK run with a new striker who is not yet used to the PL but has already scored 4 goals. Give Laca and Sanchez a chance to use all their attributes and form a good pair don’t slow them down by burdening them with Giroud and his lack of pace.
Walcott was scoring those 16 goals per season from the wing, and he is the most hated player in Arsenal. He can challenge defenders, unlike Giroud