So according to Arsene Wenger the Arsenal and France international striker Olivier Giroud has yet to start a single game for the Gunners this season is because he had a long summer and got back late and has not been up to speed. Well speed is probably a bad word to use for Giroud but you know what I mean.
Funnily enough though, the big centre forward started for France and scored in their friendly win over Italy at the start of the month. Okay he was replaced at halftime but then he started the next game for Les Bleus a few days later and that time did not come off until the 83rd minute.
Surely he would have been fit enough to start for Arsenal after the international break and it is not as if Wenger does not have history of rushing players back before they are really ready (cough, Ramsey, cough) is it? So there was already something fishy about the manager’s talk of Giroud not being fit and then we got the toe.
So Giroud apparently hurt his toe during the PSG match on Tuesday and that is why he did not even make the bench for the away win at Hull. But if that is true then why did the photos on the Arsenal website the day before show Giroud training?
Has the manager had a fallout with his fellow countryman? Is it just a tactical decision? What do you think is the real reason we have not seen Giroud start a single game for Arsenal this season?
I’ve wondered about this too.
There is no doubt Wenger is a control freak and would drop a player for any reason he deemed worthy, however I recently read Ferguson’s Autobiography and he did the same thing. I guess this is the major plus side to having squad depth.
What concerns me though is this playing without a striker thing, Okay so you drop Giroud for x reason. Fair enough, but Sanchez has proven he can’t play upfront, Walcott I suppose can play ‘okay’ upfront and then you have Perez who Wenger seems slightly reluctant to play (on this note, why did Perez not come on earlier against Hull.. Let him get a goal/assist and gain some confidence after the team were beaten)
Also, is this why Ozil’s form is seemingly off? Because we lack a clear front player? Giroud does more than just score, he’s enormous and can be a handful for defenders, he’s also good at creating space for the wingers.
Hopefully Wenger is just saving Giroud for Chelsea, maybe he has him locked in a room with a picture of David Luiz & Gary Cahill trying to make him hungry.
Regardless, I hope we play some sort of ‘real’ striker against Chelsea, this Sanchez upfront bs won’t cut it against them.
Team to play against Nottingham Forest:
Ospina
Debuchy – Holding – Gabriel – Gibbs
Xhaka – Elneny
Oxlade – Adelaide – Perez
Giroud
How can you save a striker for Chelsea game without giving him game time? When he comes and flops during the Chelsea match, the prof will say he lacks game time.. he just contradicts himself every single day
Who cares he’s rubbish and plz dint give me this hold up crap, 4 years and the guy hasn’t even scored 20 prem goals in a season. Bang average striker who should be in a team like west ham not anywhere near the top 4, I would rather have sanchez /perez there any day of the week.
I agree. Every season the guy goes more than 10 games without a goal, that for team that is supposedly chasing the title is unacceptable.
I disagree.!!!
Olivier Giroud ias a decent striker when you consider the price tag he came with.
The guy was bought around £9.6 million (€12.4 million). He has done fairly to his cost.
Why didn’t we buy Cavani, Lewandoski, Griezmann, Suarez, etc all who command 5 times of Giroud’s cost ???
Have you ever seen any big club bidding for his (Giroud) signature ? He suits us because we cannot pay above the odds.
In a nutshell, please direct your anger toward Wenger and the club’s board who CANNOT pay above odds. Giroud is playing up to £9.6 m as a player.
As long as we win, I am happy
However, I was wondering why he wasn’t starting because he did so well with the French squad that you would think we would want to use that momentum to help our team
I hope its something like a minor injury and not a falling out. He is still a goal scorer and we need him and his goals
No we don’t
i have given it much thought, after 4 years of careful study of olivier, i believe he is not playing because he sucks
If Perez can’t buy a game when Giroud effectively out along with Wellbeck – what chance has he?
Worried Wenger not been impressed with him in training
i know there is not much to write about but people try to find some kind of”story”when there is none,national managers don,t think about the players clubs they,ll play their best players if they are available not worrying if they have a game soon afterwards they already don,t have enough time with their players so have to make most of it,i believe wenger is managing giroud,getting him fit, fresh in view of a long season and is doing it while he has most of the squad fit im sure we will reap the rewards with giroud not having a spell of 10 games without scoring.