Goal scoring form of Giroud and Sanogo will be of concern to Wenger by SE
Of the very few concerns that Wenger will be mindful of, the goal-scoring persona and form of his two French strikers will be primary of the lot.
Sanogo scored 4 goals against Benfica in the Emirates cup, and his clinical finishing got the kind of recognition it deserved. Giroud, when he struck that 25-yard wonder strike against Man City in the FA Community Shield, would have restored confidence in Wenger and the Arsenal faithful, but are they doing enough as specialists in their position?
Strikers, who are tasked with that crucial job of scoring goals, are of paramount importance. Yes, your final-third need not function to its potential, and still not impede your results, but it will always make you vulnerable at some point of time. Chelsea experienced it last time, with Torres, Demba Ba and Eto’o put together scoring just 19 goals between them. And, although I am in no way suggestive of Arsenal demonstrating such an anomaly this time around, it’s something that Wenger needs to address. How long can he sit in his technical area, and just not be bothered about Giroud or Sanogo going scoreless or useless game after game?
Ramsey can’t be the single man to do all the running, be it with his marauding runs into the box, or doing a layoff for a team mate to pounce upon, or a strike similar to that one he scored against Liverpool at home last season. He just can’t be the ‘comprehensive source’ of Arsenal’s goals.
Ozil, just like David Silva of Man City, will create of plethora of chances for Arsenal, but will score only a handful of goals over the course of the season. And mind you, Ozil is not brought in to score goals.
Sanchez, Walcott and Podolski are three of Arsenal’s forwards who can play as a striker – but will never render Arsenal as many number of goals as Sanogo and Giroud can – due to the position at which each one of them plays.
So when the going gets tough, it needs to be one of Giroud and Sanogo absorbing pressure and making sure that they play their roles to perfection. Arsenal and Wenger will find it tough to fight for the Premier League title, if their strikers strike a barren run in front of goal, and show no signs of making a turnaround for the good.
Bottom Line: Midfielders and Wingers can’t be your main source of goals. It simply has to be your ‘strikers’. Joel Campbell, too, has to be looked at as a striker at some point of time, or the obvious solution is for Wenger to buy a proven hitman….
Suhith