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Home›Players›Are Giroud and Walcott enough to get us through to January

Are Giroud and Walcott enough to get us through to January

By Michael Price
September 4, 2013
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Many, including me are absolutely ecstatic at the signing of Mesut Özil; it is simply – a game changer. He has been sold on our ambition and his signing is a real statement of intent for the future. However, like many, I cannot help but feel slightly disappointed that a striker didn’t come in as the transfer window  closed. We went from Luis Suarez to Demba Ba to no one which is rather anti-climatic.

Ba may have been an astute loan deal but in the end, I am going to go with an unpopular thought and say I think we should be ok to get through to January still be in the mix. Going for Ba implies that we didn’t want to panic buy an average striker but would rather get a stop gap till the next window where we can make another statement.

For Olivier Giroud, Sunday was the culmination of the improvement he has made during his first 12 monthsat Arsenal. After a decent return last season, he looks a different monster: leaner, sharper, stronger, and more confident.  He terrorised Spurs and didn’t allow them a moment of peace. Having just scored the opener – a fantastic finish by the way – he harried Vertonghen for 30 yards as the defender attempted to bring the ball out of defence and battled to win the ball before and starting a counter attack that nearly led to a goal.  Many strikers would not bother with this work having just scored a goal but this summed up Giroud’s performance and his overall attitude.

Scoring the winner and being named MOTM in the NLD moved the dial in some people’s acceptance of the player, moving them off the fence when it came to considering his ability to lead the Arsenal attack. I think Giroud is to prove he can be our main striker. Historically with Giroud his second season at every club he has been at has resulted in a significant improvement over the previous year. With Özil alongside Cazorla (giddy at the thought), having a big man of Giroud’s ability – one who can hold the ball up and link play well, is a positive thing.  That said, what is our plan B?

This is where I come onto Theo.  Last year many fans were calling for Walcott to get his chance up front and when he did get his chance against Newcastle he certainly made an impression scoring a magnificent hat trick. This continued at Wigan as his pace caused them problems and many were convinced he should be the club’s primary option up front more often. However, then came the Manchester City game at home. The Ox, who came off after about 15 minutes, had more touches in that time than Theo did over 90.  What the game proved is that when we come up against a side where we who are astute defensively, Walcott will can struggle. He does not have the ability to hold the ball up well enough to play against the likes of City, United, Chelsea. He may also struggle to play against teams who park the bus and play a deep defensive line but against those sides he is more likely to still get chances as Özil and Santi get more time on the ball.

The cruxt of my argument is that although Walcott has limitations as a striker, against certain teams he has the ability to effectively lead the line and give Giroud a rest. Away from home especially Theo could be lethal as part of a counter attacking unit and when teams look to play a higher line. When Podolski and Ox come back we have even more options out wide and can move Theo up.  We could even play a 4-4-2 with Theo and Giroud with Özil and Santi wide (formula used by Man City the year they won the league).  Theo could do benefit well from Giroud’s link up play and could capitalise on weaker defences with some of the runs he has proved himself capable of making.

It may not be the preferred option but we still have SOME options to get us through to January where hopefully with this new direction we’re supposedly taken, we  can line up a top class striker to compete with Grioud and give the Frenchman a rest.
Last year fans clamoured for Walcott to be a striker but now many are complaining we only have one striker.  Although we only have one recognised amd accomplished centre forward by trade, we certainly have the options to get us through 4 months of football still in contention.  Come January, if we can then buy a world class centre forward to compliment what we already have then we will well and truly be taking steps, no make that strides, in the right direction.

TagsAFCArsenalArsenal FCCazorlaGiroudMesut ÖzilOlivier GiroudÖzilSanti CazorlaTheo WalcottWalcottYAMAYou Are My Arsenal
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16 comments

  1. US Gunner 5 September, 2013 at 18:54 Log in to Reply

    Don’t forget Bendtner.

    • stag133 10 September, 2013 at 02:53 Log in to Reply

      why? It’s been so easy to forget him from the moment he left Arsenal, because he’s done absolutely NOTHING of note… what the hell would they want him back for? I’d rather see Yaya Sonogo get a chance.

  2. Kiwi 5 September, 2013 at 02:35 Log in to Reply

    A few random thoughts on strikers:

    – We have what we’ve got. You’d have to say that Wenger and his team screwed up in this area over the window.

    – I wonder what Van Persie is currently thinking? What’s the little boy inside telling him? He has his title, but… no Fergie. Manchester United less Fergie suddenly look a lot less compelling. Fergie = winning. Moyes = ? What a mess their window was. I could see United settling back in to the pack a bit. Their squad has had a meh look for a while now.

    – Rooney, what’s the little boy inside him saying? Can he rediscover his mojo with United? I think probably not. It started going south for Rooney when he had the dust up with Fergie and the club over his new mega-contract. He lost a lot of goodwill with that and backed himself in to a position with ongoing implications. A younger Fergie would have transferred Rooney (like he did Jaap Stam and Beckham). A Fergie on the edge of retirement didn’t have the appetite so he kept Rooney but paid him back by recruiting Van Persie as a going away present. You don’t mess with that Scot. Rooney needs to go, but his massive salary is an impediment.

    – Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski is on a free at the end of this season. One of Europe’s elite centre forwards with excellent pedigree. What does the little boy inside say to him? Bayern is touted as his destination but he has a long time to ponder it… which for Bayern is not good. A lot of clubs would like this guy. Being on a free makes it interesting, who has the flexibility to come up with a great package and sell a great vision to the Pole? Have Arsenal got an interest? We’ve got a bevy of Germans and Poles in the squad now. Would Lewandowski like to play in front of Özil, Cazorla and Walcott? Would Wenger and Arsenal having broken the shackles of the pay structure be interested in doing a Campbell deal for the 25 year old? Pre-Özil this would seem highly unlikely. Now it’s down to Wenger. Would Klopp and Borussia think of selling the player in the January window for a fee AND to ensure he doesn’t go to Bayern?

    • stag133 5 September, 2013 at 04:12 Log in to Reply

      Kiwi… why do you think United are going to fall back into the pack?
      They walked away with the title last year, and still have the same squad plus Fellaini.
      yes, they screwed up their window, (ummm, so did we until about 30 minutes before)…
      but they are still the TEAM to BEAT = Champions.
      They know how to win… and have talent and experience.
      Rooney and RVP in the same squad is a positive in my book…

      RVP is thinking, wow… I am a champion now… that’s what its like to win a title.

      • Kiwi 5 September, 2013 at 05:01 Log in to Reply

        Hey Stag, you might be proved right, but I’m not convinced at this stage. Here’s my rationale…
        – Sometimes we oversell the influence of the manger, but in United’s case Fergie has been enormous, it’s hard to find a guy as capable in any sport of sustained success over a long time. Fergie’s persona imbued his United sides – that blend of style, pragmatism and steely determination.
        – Moyes did ok at Everton, he kept the club in the second quartile of the league for a good period of time. But that’s it. I mean, with out wanted to disparage his work that’s not actually much of a CV for the United job is it? The best you can say is he’s a stable influence, well experienced at managing a middling EPL club with limited ambition. There is nothing really special that he’s demonstrated – I’d suggest Laudrup has had higher impact at a club with lesser resources.
        – I think the United squad has been slowing declining for several years. It reached its last zenith when Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez (and Berbatov) terrorised the opposition, but that ended in 2008/9 – 4 seasons has since passed.
        – Van Persie and Rooney compete to be the no.1. That’s not sustainable unless the manager is skilled in massaging mega ego’s. Moyes has history and a tarnished relationship with Rooney and it won’t fix itself. Rooney is about to turn 28 and has been a favourite at Old Trafford for 9 years – he’s not bending. Van Persie is 30 years old and has enjoyed the affection of his manager for many years. He’s just got fit over the last 2 years – he’s not taking a back seat to nobody. I can’t see this ending well. I pick Rooney to go.
        – Ferguson got this team to over-perform imo. Interestingly he felt he needed to roll out Scholes (gone) and Giggs (who’s nearly 40) to help out the team. That gives you a sense of a team running on fumes. Aside from the unhappy duet of Van Persie and Rooney who else really stands out to you?
        – The defence is needing regeneration a job Fergie deferred. Ferdinand is 34 and his partner Vidic is 31, they are both looking vulnerable with fitness and play a lot less. Even Evra is 32 and won’t be impressed at the clubs attempts to replace him with Baines. That said, the defence IS an area Moyes is well able to restructure – if he buys himself the time!
        – The midfield has been seriously average for ages imo. I don’t know why, but the truth is Fergie failed to redevelop a classy midfield. He’s got by with water carriers. That wasn’t so bad when you had a swashbuckling attack… but with the departure of Tevez and Ronaldo and the underperforming Berbatov the midfield has been labouring.
        – We’ve covered the attack.

        It’s all up to Moyes. This could unravel pretty quickly. The Old Trafford faithful have been brought up on a diet of winning. If that stops, Moyes is going to feel the heat. He’s lucky, in that the media seem kindly disposed toward him. I was really surprised he didn’t stamp his mark on the transfer window. He badly needs to get ‘wins’ on the board with the onlookers. He’s struggled on the pitch, poor preseason, underwhelming start, and the squad has basically stayed the same – that seems nuts to me. The thing about United is that you not only need to win but to do it with style – can Moyes achieve that?

        They won’t win the league.

        • stag133 7 September, 2013 at 01:47

          they still have one of the top 3 teams in the league, EASILY.
          every single manager, even the best, won nothing at some point…
          you can’t really expect Moyes to win titles and trophies at Everton, so he gets zero blame for not winning trophies at a club that has no chance to do so.
          Like Arsenal in the recent past, they sell their best players to big teams almost every season…

          United are a lock for a top 3 spot, and have as good a chance as Chelsea and City to win the title again…
          Not to mention they have been written off many many many times before… only to win the league…. THEIR LEAGUE… they’ve dominated the EPL since its inception.

          Write them off at your own peril…

  3. joshuad 4 September, 2013 at 20:19 Log in to Reply

    there is this old basketball saying that applies also to soccer and many other sports. it goes, “everybody loves to play with someone who knows how to pass”. just think of the fortune players like anelka and ljunberg had simply because they played with bergkamp. he made them both look better than they actually were. i think ozil will have a similar affect on giroud but especially walcott. if mesut ozil (mo) comes in and has a good positive impact right away, center forwards will be banging down the door to prove they’re better than giroud. van persie will look back at his former team with envy. soon, he’ll be giving cleverly the same scowl he used to give gervinho.

    • ChicagoGooner 5 September, 2013 at 00:47 Log in to Reply

      Ahh, van Persie. I never faulted him for wanting out, and I still don’t, but boy do I miss him. I never really recovered from his sale. You just don’t sell that type of talent if there is any way possible to avoid doing so. It would’ve been bad enough selling him to Spain or elsewhere, but to Man U of all places? It pains me to this day to see him banging them in for the red DEVILS.

      In a way Ozil helps, but in another way it compounds the frustration… just think if we had Ozil and RVP together! (In a year where the top 3 title contenders all have first-year managers… ahhh! I can’t think about it too much or it’ll drive me crazy.) We never got to see RVP and Cesc fully blossom together, due to injuries to both players. Yes they spent a lot of time on the pitch together, but never consistently enough to reach the upper limit of their combined abilities.

      And here we are… needing a striker… if we had just held onto him for one more year!! Just one… the agony…

      Oh well- here’s hoping that the combined forces of Theo, Podolski, Santi, Giroud, and the Ox will benefit tremendously from our recent Turko-German acquisition. For the first time in a long time I’m truly excited for an Arsenal SEASON, rather than merely the odd match here or there. Up the Arse!

  4. joshuad 4 September, 2013 at 19:55 Log in to Reply

    want to know how highly our new midfielder is rated. his former manager, jose mourinho, has come out and declared that he, personally, blocked arsenal’s loan move for demba ba after hearing that arsenal had actually signed mesut ozil. he declared that the addition chelsea’s third choice center forward would make arsenal legitimate title contenders.

    that’s a hell of a compliment mourinho had for ozil. in spain, this transfer is getting a lot more news press than the arrival of gareth bale. wow!

    http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1543756/mesut-ozil-deal-led-jose-mourinho-blocking-demba-ba-move?cc=5901

  5. stag133 4 September, 2013 at 14:20 Log in to Reply

    Wenger buying in January?
    really… we had all Summer, and waited until the last 30 minutes!
    didn’t get a striker, didn’t get a CB…
    but we’re talking about January buys, which Wenger admittedly HATES.

    sorry.
    the earth had to move and it took about 5 years for a signing like Ozil!
    I don’t see a move in January, unless we are in about 8th place!

    • David Eshenbaugh 12 September, 2013 at 19:56 Log in to Reply

      He hates it, but he also has a history of buying at that time: Monreal, Arshavin, Diaby, Adebayor and I’m sure I’m missing a few came in the January window. I think Wenger prefers not to buy at that time, but I think he hates to spend money at ANY time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new face or two in January.

  6. cuirmichael 4 September, 2013 at 12:34 Log in to Reply

    Cristiano Ronaldo is reported to be angry at the sale of Ozil, says that Ozil was his best supplier, knew his moves. Maybe Arsene should be planning a bid for January…

  7. Sebastian 4 September, 2013 at 12:29 Log in to Reply

    I expect us to go all out to get Benteke in January. I know he’s just signed a new contract, but we got Flamini for Free, Sanogo for Free, Viviano for free, meaning we have a big wedge still burning a hole. More importantly, he won’t be champions league cup tied. I expect us to bid £30m+ for him, and I hope we succeed.

    • stag133 5 September, 2013 at 04:20 Log in to Reply

      why would you “expect” Wenger and Arsenal to go get anyone?!
      especially when he has always stated his dislike for the January window.
      makes no sense.

      • Caribkid 5 September, 2013 at 23:04 Log in to Reply

        If he doesn’t go out now and get the 2 or 3 players needed to make us a force then we will know for certain he has never regained the plot.

        • stag133 8 September, 2013 at 04:19

          so he’s waiting for January, to go get 2 or 3 players?
          Carib, you know that doesn’t make much sense… he had an entire Summer…
          and hates the January window, more than he hates the Summer window.

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