Goal.com

Arsenal are drawing ever closer to sealing the deal that will bring Giroud to the Emirates stadium. Goal.com discusses what the Ligue 1 top scorer can bring to Arsenal's attack.

Arsene Wenger seems to have learnt his lesson last summer. The Arsenal boss lost Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri towards the end of the transfer window and left himself precious little time to replace them. With the ongoing saga involving Robin van Persie's future seemingly taking a similar path, the Frenchman is not prepared to take any risks this time around. He has already secured the services of Lukas Podolski next season and now looks set to wrap up a deal for Montpellier's Olivier Giroud.

With Nicklas Bendtner and Marouane Chamakh out of favour and likely to leave the club, Wenger requires more options in front of goal. Giroud's arrival would provide good cover if Van Persie does decide to leave. If the Dutchman decides to stay put then the Gunners will have three quality strikers among their ranks as opposed to the solitary one they had last year. Van Persie proved beyond doubt last season that he is comfortable playing as the lone striker. If his manager persists to play him in that position then Giroud may be subjected to the bench but will be a valuble option to bring on and will definitely make that bench look a lot more threatening than it has in recent times.

However, Van Persie is a phenomenal player and scoring goals isn't all he has to offer. The Arsenal captain's link-up play is sublime and that may tempt Wenger to deploy him behind Giroud and give him the chance to influence the game even more. This strategy may be a feasable option when you consider the fact that Tomas Rosicky, although evidently back to his best, is 31 years old and coping with injury problems that would most probably bar him from playing consistently in the first team. The patchy form of young Aaron Ramsey could convince Wenger to adopt this system.



Regardless of the way in which Wenger decides to use Giroud, the striker's quality can only be beneficial to Arsenal's cause. Olivier is 6 feet 3 inches tall and he knows how to use every inch of his towering figure. He's known for his tremendous heading ability while his physical style should help him settle into the Premier League quickly. But he's not just there to head balls around and brush defenders off, with 25 goals last season the man knows where the back of the net is. His 9 assists suggests that he could forge a decent partnership with Van Persie should they occupy the same field.

Arsenal fans can be forgiven for being skeptical of the Frenchman. Not too long ago they signed a towering center forward who was creating waves back in France's elite division with Bordeaux. He too was accomplished in the air but never truly instilled himself into Arsenal's style of play and was eventually brushed to the sidelines. Marouane Chamakh promised much on arrival but ultimately failed to deliver. With just 1 goal from 19 appearances last season, the Moroccan international finds himself firmly planted on the bench. Giroud's imminent arrival may display similar symptoms but Arsenal fans must take comfort in the fact that Chamakh has never been as prolific as Giroud. In his last season at Bordeaux, Chamakh scored 16 goals from 52 appearances while Giroud has just managed 25 goals in 43 appearances. Moreover, Giroud also buried 24 goals for Tours in the 2009-10 season from 42 appearances albeit in Ligue 2. It's highly unlikely that someone with a keen eye for talent such as Arsene Wenger could make a similar error in judgement quite so soon or even ever again.

If and when Giroud's transfer to Arsenal is finalised, the move will only enhance Arsenal's bid to challenge for trophies next season. For a club of it's stature, the bench was almost embarrassingly weak last year and even a couple of injuries seemed to have a crippling effect on the squad. Even if Giroud has to play second fiddle to Van Persie next season, he will still be a threat from the bench and an able-bodied replacement for the Dutch international whether he is being rested or has left the club entirely.


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