For the Arsenal fans out there who have never really got used to the fact that Olivier Giroud is the player picked by Arsene Wenger to be our main centre forward and to lead the line ever since the little boy inside Robin van Persie spat his dummy out and demanded to go to Man United, these stats will only reinforce your anti-Giroud stance.
I would point out, however, that the big Frenchman has improved his stats and performances every season since signing for Arsenal from the French Ligue 1 club Montpellier. And without him this season I reckon we would be nowhere near the race for the Premier League title, as Theo Walcott has pretty much failed to make any impact in the battle to be the club´s first choice through the middle and we have had to do without Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez for most of the matches.
Having said that, the Sky Sports report that compares the four main strikers from the current top four clubs does not make happy reading for Arsenal fans. Compared to the Man City man Sergio Aguero, Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane of the spuds, Giroud is bottom of the list for combined goals and assists, shooting accuracy, shot conversion rate, big chances scored and big chance conversion rate.
The man we need to stop from scoring on Sunday, Vardy, has missed one more big chance than Giroud but he has also finished five more. So will it be Giroud’s fault if we falter? There is an argument for that, but stats do not tell the whole story and Giroud’s power and presence helps the team a lot.
Also, he is not too far off the league’s best with his stats and I think we could have expected more goals from the players around him as well. Maybe now that Alexis Sanchez is back and match sharp the Gunners will have that extra fire power to see us crowned EPL champions.
What do you think Gooners?