Have Arsenal already got the PERFECT centre forward?

I am not sure how much of a minority I am in, as the Arsenal fans who have never thought much of the France international striker Olivier Giroud seem a lot more willing to talk about it than the ones that appreciate the big centre forwardΒ΄s abilities and efforts, but I would definitely call myself a Giroud fan.

But I would still have liked to see Arsene Wenger sign a really top class striker in the summer transfer window. The problem seems clear though, no one significantly was available unless Wenger wanted to spend twice what a player was worth, and even then the likes of Cavani and Benzema might not have been possible.

So we are stuck with Giroud and Walcott as competition, for better or worse, right? Wrong, because there is a certain Alexis Sanchez in the Arsenal squad and the Chilean has all the attributes needed to make a top class front man in the modern game, especially with the right players around him to create space and opportunities.

Alexis was tried there a few times early in his debut season and it was not a roaring success, but neither was it a complete disaster. It is a role that players need to work at and understand and Alexis has almost always been a wide forward or a number 10.

But look at some of the best strikers around these days, including the best player in the world, Lionel Messi. The Barca star and others like Aguero and Suarez are similar players to Alexis and they all began their playing careers in positions other than centre forward.

So perhaps it is time for Wenger to think again and start training and playing with the Chilean in that crucial role. What do you think?

Tags Alexis Giroud Sanchez

30 Comments

  1. OT: Happy birthday Laurent Koscielny – boss!!!

    May you continue to bring stability at the back, put more strikers in your pocket, share your wisdom and art of defending to others and let injuries keep away from you.

    Best defender at the club right now hands down.

  2. He is like Ronaldo. If he is played on the left wing, he will produce the best as he is reluctant to play with his back to goal. He is also not very good with keeping the fluid move going. His attributes are to attack the defense with dribbling and tenacity. His best position is left wing. Even Walcott has a better chance at CF. Wenger has tried that and left that thought. And anyway if he plays CF, who will be on the LW? Chambo (not a finished article)? Cazorla(Not again)? Ozil(No way)?

    1. true…alexis’s place is LW. it’s like we r desperate in the CF position that we are thinking to change whats already working great to ‘probably good’. its stupid.

  3. Would be wise to use Alexis as a Centre Forward in some games, not all. Most teams are parking the bus, so him and Giroud as a partner upfront when things are looking bleak wouldn’t go a miss.
    Enjoy your day!

  4. You are a Giroud, fan??? Lol! Not surprised. But I agree with you. Sanchez would make a good forward, a very good one. The problem is with Wenger; will Arsene play him there? Does Arsene think he’s good enough.

    It doesn’t matter what you think; as far as Arsene is concerned, you don’t think.

  5. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to try out Sanchez at ST.

    Second year at the club and in the league I’m sure he has gotten used to the demands of the league now. His got Suaraz and Auguero type of qualities (full of running, fast, can dribble, and knows how to find the back of the net). The only difference I see between these players is Sanchez just needs to add that death first touch (Ozil and Carzola should show him how its done). He tends to be abit sloppy with his first touch but quickly recovers with a second and accelerate, he might not have so much space to do that at ST as he might be crowed out most of the game. His energy might be missed on the left too as his full of running up and down the channel. If Theo or Ox can be played there with a little more discipline I see this working.

    No harm in trying this really, if Theo can be deployed on the left they can easily rotate during games and one of them subed to bring on OG or Ox depending on the needs of the match.

  6. Im soo bored of da striker talk i tink we shuld worry bwt sumtin else. Personally dey all dnt impress me. As lng as dey wuld b roaming arwnd wit da ball n nt shoot its all bt waste of tym. Wat arsene shuld emphasize on is more shots. Whoeva plays upfront is wengers choice, as 99% of opinions of da fans doesnt count 2 him (arsene)

  7. Playing players out of their natural positions is not a good idea at this point in time…infact i am expecting this mistake will be corrected by playing the OX at the RW in place of ramsey.

    1. Both have strong and weakness point. Ramsey present at midfield as RM not a winger. He has more ball control and offer more ball possession for the team. His attacking mind, unfortunately not include his pace, is balance with his defensive ability. Balance, that’s the key reason why Rambo consistently been pick by AW. The Ox, in other side is a lot quicker and playing more direct, and I admire his courage to shoot whenever it will. Something that Ozil should learn for. However, AOC is on fire and should be given first team player on selected game. Maybe like this Stoke fixture.

  8. We will have our perfect cf when Wenger retires πŸ™ πŸ™ πŸ™
    I am 100% sure the current wenger is not the one of 04-06 πŸ™ πŸ™
    This one was made and sent by Man U owners to sink arsenal πŸ™ πŸ™

    1. If I were made coach of Arsenal today, we would win EPL next season( This season we didnt utilize transfer window so we can’t..that is first mistake I will fix come summer) πŸ™‚ πŸ™ πŸ˜€

  9. To me it has always been counter intuitive to suggest Walcott or Sanchez are what is needed. When these guys can score significantly from wide why would you lose that by moving them?

    Ozil, Ramsey and Ox don’t score enough from wide positions.

    1. To Qualify you need:
      > to be able to fix a broken zipper
      > be able to kick water bottles if things dont go your way
      > be strong enough to push JM

  10. Firstly hahahahahahahahaha Giroud fans

    Secondly hearing Wenger lie on Sky sports this morning is frustration -” we were looking at the targets but didn’t think they were right to improve what we have”
    So every other Top team in Europe who were better than us last year decided they could find targets that would I prove their squads, not Arsenal
    I will be kind if wenger gets us to finish in the top 2 or final of the CL he’s a genius, if it’s the usual last 16 and top 4, this is all on wenger I’m afraid and the AKB will have no way of explaining this away.
    If your not moving forward what’s the point, we pay the highest ticket prices and have a manager on one of the highest wages in Europe.
    I am an Arsenal fan through and through and will still be here when Wengers long gone , I just want to see a club with the same ambition as there fans

    1. Arsenal does have the
      same ambition as the fans.
      The 75% AKB’s like top 4.
      Winning the EPL is not important to them
      in fact they are too scared to face a real challenge for the title.
      The owner says “how many home runs we hit
      on Saturday, and how’s my bank balance”.
      The CEO says ” participation is the goal winning is a bonus”.
      The board says “when we are doing well we say nothing
      when we are doing badly we say nothing”.
      The Manager says “4th is a trophy”.
      The players who are happy to cruise and collect their salary, stay.
      Those who want to win big trophies go to Chelsea
      Man City, United and Barcelona.
      11 years and counting…

  11. Hmmmmmm, get a grip guys. The transfer window s closed for now. So let’s move on. Actually, there was no realistic WC striker in the market. Let’s see how we use what we have as we didn’t sell any top quality. I believe our players can improve this season.

  12. I think Sanchez has the attributes to be as prolific striker. He has similar skill set as Suarez and Aguero but the only difference is that he is not very sharp in front of goal and his finishing is not clinical as Suarez or Aguero’s.

    So i think it wont be a bad idea to have Sanchez as our CF bcos am sure he will do better than Giroud when he settles into that role.

  13. I see this working against bigger teams with Chamberlain, Alexis and Walcott in the front three attacking positions, that way we can catch them on the counter.
    But with teams who are defending deep against us we need a big man upfront who can draw the defenders and make more space for others.

  14. Arsenal fans supporting an average striker… what a time to be alive. We deserve all these 4th and 3rd spot finishes we’ve been getting for the last 10 years with this kind of mediocrity level of thinking at the club… despicable.

  15. We all know Giroud is not the world’s best striker. Get over it. He is still being picked as the front man in a big national side (sometimes ahead of Benzema). He works his socks off. He allows the rest of our attacking players to move freely when he holds up the ball. Giroud creates room for Alexis, Γ–zil and others.

    A true fan should, in my opinion, support the players we have while dreaming of better players coming in.

    Although just a game, FIFA 16 have four Arsenal among the top 50 (Γ–zil, Alexis, Cazorla and Cech). That’s pretty good.

    1. Yeah, but overall midfield sector just got 80 point of rating behind Chelsea, Shitty, and guess what, behind ManUre.

  16. I cannot agree that Alexis should be played up front. It makes no sense to move him from his most effective position. We have Giroud, Walcott, Welbeck (when fit) and Joel Campbell. If it came to it, just recall Akpom; he would be better than shoe-horning Alexis into a position that doesn’t suit him.

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