Get rid of Giroud ?

[Munchies]

He's shit. Can't score goals. Can't hold the ball up. What does he do?

Won't win us trophies going forward.

What's the point in keeping him around ?

Get rid in the summer.

[selassie]

I think we should keep him as an option, but he most definitely needs upgrading as a priority. He has screwed up guilt edged chances in all of the big games this season, I literally do not have any confidence in him. In my opinion we will not progress as a team if we don't upgrade on him.

[milla]

It is obvious. He is no way better than Bendtner (not saying Bendtner is good). The only thing he is good at is moaning and making cum face whenever he fuckup a sitter. :coffee:

[Niall_Quinn]

And bring in who? Bendtner? Sanogo?

Giroud is all we have. Podolski as we've seen can't play that role. Theo is dead. Giroud is it.

[Özim]

He can be a backup, but if him staying means no decent striker coming in get rid now because you can't win sh*t with such a toothless finisher.

[selassie]

Well Arsene has only had 2 full windows to do something about it. He should have signed a top class striker in the Summer, failing that he could have at least brought in someone in January, I mean Berbatov could have done a job for us.

[milla]

And bring in who? Bendtner? Sanogo?

Giroud is all we have. Podolski as we've seen can't play that role. Theo is dead. Giroud is it.

Bring Bendtner bring Podolski, bring Sanogo. Why not? They can't be any worse than Giroud. :coffee:

[Niall_Quinn]

Yeah, but the window is shut now. This is a reality we have to face.

[hobson's choice]

No he'll be a good squad player, but unless the next striker we bring in can create for himself, it's gonna be the same thing. Until Wenger realizes that this style of play needs an overhaul(which won't happen)

[Niall_Quinn]

Bring Bendtner bring Podolski, bring Sanogo. Why not? They can't be any worse than Giroud. :coffee:

But they can be worse and they have been worse.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

No, keep him as backup. The common belief that he just isn't good for a title winning team seems to be holding weight now.

I was discussing this with Zimm earlier in the season but there's been no team that has won the Premier League without having a world class free scoring striker up front: Drogba, Rooney, RVC, Henry, Shearer, Cantona, Aguero, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo etc etc. I thought we would be the first team that would buck the trend but sadly it seems this isn't going to be the case. Unfortunately these type of players are a dime in a dozen and are extremely difficult to get. We had one of them but instead of taking a principled approach to the matter we decided to sell the cunt to Man United for "footballing reasons" instead of holding firm like Dortmund and Liverpool have done. Weak and spineless.

[milla]

But they can be worse and they have been worse.

No they are not. Bendtner definitely has better stats than Giroud (mostly playing from the wing) and maybe a yard or two quicker. Podolski is the best finisher is the squad, he clearly deserve some chance. Sanogo is maybe shit but can't be any shitter than this. Sanogo is probably our only CF who has both speed and power to play as CF.

And Giroud has err...hhmm.. a stupid cum face :coffee:

[Özim]

No they are not. Bendtner definitely has better stats than Giroud (mostly playing from the wing) and maybe a yard or two quicker. Podolski is the best finisher is the squad, he clearly deserve some chance. Sanogo is maybe shit but can't be any shitter than this. Sanogo is probably our only CF who has both speed and power to play as CF.

And Giroud has err...hhmm.. a stupid cum face :coffee:

You know how it is, it's not Giroud's fault, Bendnter is sh*t, it's the refs fault and all that....

[Munchies]

I mean, I'd rather give Podolski all of these chances Giroud's getting.

Pods might not pretend to hold the ball up which Giroud does (then loses it 10 seconds later), but he is far more efficient in front of goal.

[Niall_Quinn]

You know how it is, it's not Giroud's fault, Bendnter is sh*t, it's the refs fault and all that....

You know how it is, chavs could only draw last night so we're all sulky and shit

[Özim]

You know how it is, chavs could only draw last night so we're all sulky and shit

Couldn't give a toss about last night, I'm more concerned about our games (Arsenal in case you wondered) and how we perform rather than how many petty fouls the ref missed and how much the press hate us and love everyone else.

[Niall_Quinn]

I mean, I'd rather give Podolski all of these chances Giroud's getting.

Pods might not pretend to hold the ball up which Giroud does (then loses it 10 seconds later), but he is far more efficient in front of goal.

Pods can't play 90 mins and the couple of occasions we've given him more than a bit part he's been anonymous. Not always the front man's fault either, there's way too much tippy tappy shite going on in the middle and between the middle and back four. Plodding stuff. It isolates forward players except when they have their back to goal to retain it for the midfield who then tap it around a bit more. Then it goes wide, Sagna hits 1 in 6 into the box, the forward man is knackered from endlessly trying to find space for a pass that never comes.

[Letters]

He can be a backup, but if him staying means no decent striker coming in get rid now because you can't win sh*t with such a toothless finisher.

I'd go along with that. I like Giroud, he does his best but he's not good enough to lead the line in a side with serious title pretentions.

[Xhaka Can’t]

We need someone explosive up front. We have no one like that available in the entire squad from now until the end of the season.

[Letters]

We need someone explosive up front. We have no one like that available in the entire squad from now until the end of the season.

We'd have won the Chelsea game if we had and from what I heard we'd have won tonight too.
It's games like this which win and lose you titles.

[Gooner23]

I like Podolsk, but when he's been given chances down the middle he's been mostly shit. As for Bendtner, I saw him live against Hull and he was worse than anything Giroud has served up this season.

Giroud is a decent player and would be ideal back up to a top class striker. He's had an ok season but its not his fault Wenger has played him 90 mins every week, even when its clearly not going for him. He's had 2 shockers in a row which has cost us (particularly tonight) but I blame Wenger for neglecting this area of the squad, not Giroud.

What we're severly lacking is pace. Both out wide and up front. Its killing us.

[Marc Overmars]

I don't think we should get rid of him but he's nowhere near good enough. We need more options.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I'd like to see Sanogo given a chance really; his back will probably go at any given moment so we should take the chance whilst we can.

Not much in the way of hold up play from Giroud today really, nor any good lay-offs. If he can't do that then his role does become a bit redundant. However if we don't get many players up to support him either for fear of being hit on the counter-attack then maybe it is going to be tougher for him, or anyone.

[Master Splinter]

Most people have been saying we need an elite striker for a long time. Even when Adebayor and RVC had great periods of form. It's usually what makes a good team outstanding.

It's actually extraordinary that we've performed so well without one. And we haven't even had Theo available to ease the burden somewhat.

It's not Giroud's fault that he's the only viable option in the squad and there's no-one to play ahead of him in the pecking order, alongside him on the pitch or providing meaningful back-up on the bench. That's a management fault. Giroud is doing the best he can. And what he can do will always be limited.

If Warwick Davies was playing at CB for most of the season and had been found wanting but was virtually irreplaceable because of no other options, I certainly wouldn't petulantly bitch at him if he'd put in the best effort he could. Because it wouldn't be his fault.

[Özim]

Thing about Podolski is he's an accomplished finisher, for me I'd pick him ahead of Giroud just based on that, a striker doesn't need to be running around all match heading it back and sideways to be effective.

Ideally we should get a pacey striker who can finish up front and a pacey winger to add to the likes of Cazorla, Ozil and Ox.

[Özim]

I'd like to see Sanogo given a chance really; his back will probably go at any given moment so we should take the chance whilst we can.

Not much in the way of hold up play from Giroud today really, nor any good lay-offs. If he can't do that then his role does become a bit redundant. However if we don't get many players up to support him either for fear of being hit on the counter-attack then maybe it is going to be tougher for him, or anyone.

Maybe, he's totally unproven though, he's barely got any games under his belt for anyone and is injury prone. Players like him need to be given the odd game here and there for them to get their confidence up, alongside top forwards for them to learn from.

[Niall_Quinn]

It'd be hard for Wenger to escape charges of gross mismanagement if we had to go into the most critical period of the season with a complete novice leading the line. It'd destroy the kid's career here, even more than signing him destroyed it.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Maybe, he's totally unproven though, he's barely got any games under his belt for anyone and is injury prone. Players like him need to be given the odd game here and there for them to get their confidence up, alongside top forwards for them to learn from.

Of course he's unproven, he's barely played a game!

I'm guessing you're advocating sticking with Giroud then. :unsure: There's not a chance in Hades of Poldi playing as a striker for us.

[Özim]

Of course he's unproven, he's barely played a game!

I'm guessing you're advocating sticking with Giroud then. :unsure: There's not a chance in Hades of Poldi playing as a striker for us.

No definitely not, our options are very limited though, wouldn't hurt to play a couple players up front for a change maybe.

[Marc Overmars]

Podolski has never impressed when he's started up front on his own, that's just not where his strengths lie. Wenger has built this side with the idea of a big striker bringing a talented midfield into play, it's a niche role. It's obvious Giroud is limited but he does what Wenget wants. The only way to make this system effective is to have some pacey wide players who will take chances and beat their markers.

[Munchies]

Podolski has never impressed when he's started up front on his own, that's just not where his strengths lie. Wenger has built this side with the idea of a big striker bringing a talented midfield into play, it's a niche role. It's obvious Giroud is limited but he does what Wenget wants. The only way to make this system effective is to have some pacey wide players who will take chances and beat their markers.

Never impressed but he hardly has had a full game upfront to get used to it.

I'd just leave him up there for the whole game, if a chance falls to him, he's far more likely to put it away.

I don't really buy the argument that Giroud holds the ball up and links play, he's got crap control and loses the ball soon after. He can't be any worse than Giroud in that aspect.

[Syn]

I've been trying to let him off the hook for a while now but he's just too limited and just not good enough. Even his 'link-up play' had got us excited after his few Bergkamp like touches at the start of the season, but it has gone to shit since. I don't see anything he brings to the team that Podolski wouldn't (even if Podolski isn't a top striker himself). It's not his fault and so I don't see the point of hurling abuse at him, but by the same token, the next time he manages to do something half decent, let's spare the 'Giroud is awesome' talk. I think Wenger knew he wasn't good enough which us why he spent the summer trying to find a better striker.

A club aiming for the title needs a striker that can take half-chances. Forget a world class player like Van Persie, Adebayor is a much better player overall than Giroud. Wenger at least saw he had some pace and finishing ability.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Toanswer the actual question of the thread....what good will getting rid of him do? Given that we can only rid ourselves of him this summer which also coincides with Bendtner getting the hell on out......

Are we really suggesting that Podolski/Sanogo be first choice and Park backup?

What we need to be doing is signing a world class forward and letting Giroud watch the game from the bench thinking about how quickly and how few chances he will need to score when he does come on.

Not signing a top forward was always going to be a problem. Didn't need to be clairvoyant to see that last summer.

[Özim]

Podolski has never impressed when he's started up front on his own, that's just not where his strengths lie. Wenger has built this side with the idea of a big striker bringing a talented midfield into play, it's a niche role.

I agree, but it's a sh*t idea to be honest, sick of seeing his obsession with midfielders being played out, it just doesn't work how many years will it take for him to understand you need strikers who can score goals to win stuff....without them you come up against the big boys and put out powderpuff attacks with nothing at the end of them.

[BOBN]

If Wenger was the maverick scientist hes portrayed as he would have got Adebayor back this summer when the Suarez thing went wonky.

But hes meek and scared and populist and now obsessed with feeble unathletic players.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Get rid of Giroud, Podolski and Bendtner and arguably many of the midfield too

Arteta for a start, and arguably Flamini as well (not a criticism of him i think he's been great this season and has given us a solidity we have missed in front of the back four, but he hasn't the ability to help us in big games and was only ever intended as a stop gap). I think also arguably you have a decision to make over which one of Ramsey or Wilshere goes, i think the Midfield is being congested in the centre and they play very similar games. Diaby definitley needs to go, maybe Rosicky as well as time just isn't on his side in his career anymore.
You stop this nonsense of turning the Ox into a central midfielder, we already have far too many already...and lacking pace on the wing......ditto Gnabry....both need to play on the wing

Than you bring in a player like Pogba, the nearest player you can get to being Patrick Vieira at this moment in time without being Yaya Toure (i could actually cry when i think we had him on trial with us ten years ago).

I would also get rid of Monreal in defence (i'm sorry he's too slow and his shortcomings were horrifically exposed in the drubbings by City and Liverpool this season).

Don't ask me who i'd bring in as a striker because i don't even know how many decent avaliable strikers are out there, it astonishes me that we didn't nail down our interest in Higuain (getting Liverpool to sell us Suarez was never going to fly) as he has the burst of pace that we are seriously lacking up front.

Mandzukic would not be a good signing, ditto Diego Costa i think they would both more fit into Chelsea's team rather than Ours......Benzema is also too slow. My preference would be someone like Alexis Sanchez however his season with Barcelona would render that almost impossible in my view.
I guess this is why i can understand why we didn't sign a striker in January, who do you sign?

[Munchies]

^ Wait, Rosicky to go ?

He's one of our best players, never stops running, and has decent pace on him. He increases the speed of our game.

[Marc Overmars]

I agree, but it's a sh*t idea to be honest, sick of seeing his obsession with midfielders being played out, it just doesn't work how many years will it take for him to understand you need strikers who can score goals to win stuff....without them you come up against the big boys and put out powderpuff attacks with nothing at the end of them.

Yep. The midfield is talented but goal scorers they are not. None of them seem particularly willing to chance their arm (except for maybe Cazorla), it's always just look for a killer ball and pass up responsibility where possible.

We were really fortunate Ramsey went mental because he was putting in the numbers of a top striker, now he's crocked the spotlight has fallen on Giroud and confirmed what we all suspected about him.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I agree also that Giroud is not benefitted by the lack of pace on the wings, but what alarms me so much is the chances that are presented to him that he misses, if he was absent in games i could perhaps understand it more but when he has good chances like he had tonight he makes a dogs dinner almost every time especially against the top sides.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

^ Wait, Rosicky to go ?

He's one of our best players, never stops running, and has decent pace on him. He increases the speed of our game.

I agree but he's also 33 now and can't be relied on game in, game out. I love him don't get me wrong and i think at his best he is the most technically gifted player we have at the club on the ball, but there is no room for sentiment....sentiment doesn't put this abject nine year gap without a trophy to an end.

[Özim]

Yep. The midfield is talented but goal scorers they are not. None of them seem particularly willing to chance their arm (except for maybe Cazorla), it's always just look for a killer ball and pass up responsibility where possible.

We were really fortunate Ramsey went mental because he was putting in the numbers of a top striker, now he's crocked the spotlight has fallen on Giroud and confirmed what we all suspected about him.

Exactly, goalscoring midfielders are rare anyway, you're better off looking to find a striker who scores goals (much more likely to find one that a midfielder), Ramsey was brilliant, whether he would have maintained it who knows, but even if he did having an additional goal threat wouldn't hurt and would give us another dimension.

Cazorla does have a shot yeah, which is what I like about him, he looked like the only one likely to get a goal tonight.

[Özim]

I agree but he's also 33 now and can't be relied on game in, game out. I love him don't get me wrong and i think at his best he is the most technically gifted player we have at the club on the ball, but there is no room for sentiment....sentiment doesn't put this abject nine year gap without a trophy to an end.

I'd keep Rosicky as he does try and add pace to our play, if we added a winger with pace a DM and a pacey striker we could still accommodate him in a season.

The likes of Wilshere, Diaby, Arteta and maybe even Flamini would be the ones I'd get rid of, we've got plenty of midfielders and if we add a specialist DM on top of what we have we should have plenty.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

I like Podolsk, but when he's been given chances down the middle he's been mostly shit. As for Bendtner, I saw him live against Hull and he was worse than anything Giroud has served up this season.

Giroud is a decent player and would be ideal back up to a top class striker. He's had an ok season but its not his fault Wenger has played him 90 mins every week, even when its clearly not going for him. He's had 2 shockers in a row which has cost us (particularly tonight) but I blame Wenger for neglecting this area of the squad, not Giroud.

What we're severly lacking is pace. Both out wide and up front. Its killing us.

Top post.

The lad didn't choose to be our main and only half decent striker. He certainly isn't the one who continues with a style of sluggish play which sees him in a congested area by the time the ball reaches the attacking 3rd.

Ffs even he was echoing the cry for us to get in a proper striker in the summer.

[BOBN]

I guess this is why i can understand why we didn't sign a striker in January, who do you sign?
I promise you weve been saying this word for word for over a year. going into last years January window we all knew we were short a striker and everybody said there was nobody to buy. In that time, Sturridge, Negredo, Balotelli, Ba, Remy, Bony have all moved for sensible money and would all have comfortably improved our first team, and those are just the names my insular brain can muster, i'm sure theres plenty more across Europe.

The players are out there, there is simply no excuse.

[Niall_Quinn]

Anichebe would have done tonight. He'd have stuck one of those chances in. Any stop gap to take the pressure of Giroud. Plenty of barrels to scrape, there was Berbatov, some Greek bloke, plenty were on the move and any of them would have jumped at the chance to sign up. It would have been a bit embarrassing signing shite like that but we ate it up on players like Chamakh and Park. Is Park really so terrible he's not worth even giving 15mins? I mean WTF was the point of that signing?

[Marc Overmars]

I've seen fans baulk at the thought of signing many strikers because they deem them not good enough, but it really wouldn't take a 50m superstar. Competency is all that's required.

[Penguin]

Keep him as second choice. There's no need to sell him unless we sign two CFs.

[Munchies]

Anichebe would have done tonight. He'd have stuck one of those chances in. Any stop gap to take the pressure of Giroud. Plenty of barrels to scrape, there was Berbatov, some Greek bloke, plenty were on the move and any of them would have jumped at the chance to sign up. It would have been a bit embarrassing signing shite like that but we ate it up on players like Chamakh and Park. Is Park really so terrible he's not worth even giving 15mins? I mean WTF was the point of that signing?

Even Chamakh has been decent for Palace :lol:

He's faster than Giroud.

Same aerial ability.

Wenger :doh:

[Fist of Lehmann]

I don't know if anyone has actually seen Sanogo play, but IMO unless he has improved dramatically during his long injury layoff, I'd say he was a looong way from being adequate for our needs.

[Munchies]

Sanogo is like Bentdter without one leg. :lol:

Another player, Wenger has felt condemned to pay a salary towards ala Diaby.

I bet Sanogo will never score more than 1 goal for us in all competitions. Another failure from Wenger.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sanogo was brought in as a future prospect, but what does Park do? Is he here to keep Diaby company?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I don't know if anyone has actually seen Sanogo play, but IMO unless he has improved dramatically during his long injury layoff, I'd say he was a looong way from being adequate for our needs.

What is adequate for our needs though?

[JonasTC]

I don't know if anyone has actually seen Sanogo play, but IMO unless he has improved dramatically during his long injury layoff, I'd say he was a looong way from being adequate for our needs.

Ye saw him in the Under-somthing world cup last summer and i werent impressed and that really says it all, most youngsters who become something have always bossed the youth cups, like Pogba and a few others from the French side did.

[The Verminator]

He's a good squad player but should never have been our first choice.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

What's odd is that the manager admits he has the best finisher he has ever seen sitting on the bench yet he doesn't find a way to utilise him effectively in the striker role. You'd think that would be the first thing he'd do.

[Marc Overmars]

This is what he always does. He has his first 11 + 1 or 2 subs he trusts and that's it. He never manages to utilise his squad and keeps flogging things until he has no choice but to change it up. It took being knocked out of everything for him to play Koscielnly and Rosicky reguarly last year.

[I am invisible]

We definitely need a world-class, first-choice striker to come-in - that's been the case for a couple of years now, and it hasn't changed - but I wouldn't get rid of Giroud? He was doing really well at the start of the season, but the longer the season's gone on, and the more players have dropped around him (especially Ramsey and Walcott) the more he's started to flag - if you ask me, I think he needs a rest more than a P45, and someone to share the load with...

[IBK]

I'd go along with that. I like Giroud, he does his best but he's not good enough to lead the line in a side with serious title pretentions.


This. Giroud's performance (as it often is), was made worse by the fact that we have a gazillion (supposed) playmakers but rarely any runners for him to lay off to - and this was compounded last night by the fact that Giroud was surrounded by 5 players every time he had the ball. However, this does not excuse the fact that he is simply not reliable enough to bury the rare chances he gets. RVP showed that even world class strikers can miss gilt edged chances, but with Judas this is an aberration. With Giroud its par for the course.

However, I lay the blame for Giroud's profligacy firmly at Wenger's door. His bids for Suarez and Higuain show that he is well aware that a title challenging team needs a top striker - but he either won't make sure we get one - or his executive team are too inept to enable us to do so. Personally, I think its the former. He would rather throw the league (as long as he thinks he can get 4th) than pay a penny more than his own skewed valuation says a player is worth. Neither will he change the way his team plays and give us some fucking width to allow Giroud more room in the box.

Secondly - he's flogged Giroud to death, so that the player cannot even maximise his (competent rather than world class) potential.

[Power n Glory]

Controversial, but Giroud is probably one of the worst strikers we’ve had leading our line. Right now, he’s playing the sort of football that had everyone berating Chamakh and Bendy. It’s that bad. A poor touch, missing loads of chances whilst remaining immobile and not getting inside the box. It’s like a fusion of both Chamakh and Bendy to create this lump of shit on our pitch. It drives me mental to see him constantly coming towards the ball instead of making runs into the box. He always comes short but what makes him worse than Chamakh is that he’s always coming in with a heavy and clumsy touch. He loses possession a lot when he tries to come short. He’s dispossessed easily and his passing statistics aren’t good enough for him to keep coming deep. We’re talking 50/60% pass completion. We don’t need him coming short all the time just to flick it to the opposition. It’s not intelligent play. He needs a bench.

[Gooner23]

He's had two terrible games in a row, highlighting the obvious point we are a top striker short of winning something this season.

But he's not even close to the shit levels Chamakh dropped to.

[Marc Overmars]

Giroud doesn't score enough and is fairly limited but he's better than Chakma.

Which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement I know.

[Munchies]

He's had two terrible games in a row, highlighting the obvious point we are a top striker short of winning something this season.

But he's not even close to the shit levels Chamakh dropped to.

I'd rather have Chamakh to be fair. Faster, and the same aerial threat. He was on a great run early on before Wenger dropped him for RVC.

:haha: FFS Wenger, what's it coming to now ?!??

[Power n Glory]

I hated Chamakh with a passion but he's very close to Chamakh's level because he can't retain possession of the ball and keep our play ticking. Chamakh was more than capable of doing that but he was a blunt knife. Was too afraid to shoot. Giroud's touch is really heavy at the moment so he's not helping us hold possession high up the pitch. The best thing he has going for him is his strength and work rate.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I promise you weve been saying this word for word for over a year. going into last years January window we all knew we were short a striker and everybody said there was nobody to buy. In that time, Sturridge, Negredo, Balotelli, Ba, Remy, Bony have all moved for sensible money and would all have comfortably improved our first team, and those are just the names my insular brain can muster, i'm sure theres plenty more across Europe.

The players are out there, there is simply no excuse.

Balotelli - Psycopath, can't behave himself no matter who he plays for
BA - I don't see how he's good enough, i don't see how he would add what we need (pace up front)
Remy - Not convinced he's good enough either
Bony - Not been impressed by what i've seen, he's done ok for Swansea but nothing convinces me he could actually improve us.

Again what i mean is that making those kind of signings in January is impossible, it's not defending Wenger because he should have bought the striker we needed in the Summer and it should have been Higuain he was tailor made for us but we let him go to Napoli because of our absurd pipe dream of signing Suarez

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Controversial, but Giroud is probably one of the worst strikers we’ve had leading our line. Right now, he’s playing the sort of football that had everyone berating Chamakh and Bendy. It’s that bad. A poor touch, missing loads of chances whilst remaining immobile and not getting inside the box. It’s like a fusion of both Chamakh and Bendy to create this lump of shit on our pitch. It drives me mental to see him constantly coming towards the ball instead of making runs into the box. He always comes short but what makes him worse than Chamakh is that he’s always coming in with a heavy and clumsy touch. He loses possession a lot when he tries to come short. He’s dispossessed easily and his passing statistics aren’t good enough for him to keep coming deep. We’re talking 50/60% pass completion. We don’t need him coming short all the time just to flick it to the opposition. It’s not intelligent play. He needs a bench.

I don't see how that's controversial, in the past twenty years we have had Bergkamp, Wright, Henry, Van Persie leading our line.....that Giroud compares to any of those is patently non sensical. It's not really his fault, i think the pressure of expectation is getting to him and he's not putting away makable opportunites....you can't really say he's being lazy or doesn't care but we are bashing our heads against a brick wall with him

[Power n Glory]

Balotelli - Psycopath, can't behave himself no matter who he plays for
BA - I don't see how he's good enough, i don't see how he would add what we need (pace up front)
Remy - Not convinced he's good enough either
Bony - Not been impressed by what i've seen, he's done ok for Swansea but nothing convinces me he could actually improve us.

Again what i mean is that making those kind of signings in January is impossible, it's not defending Wenger because he should have bought the striker we needed in the Summer and it should have been Higuain he was tailor made for us but we let him go to Napoli because of our absurd pipe dream of signing Suarez

They'd be an improvement over Giroud. His current form is killing us. Immobile, terrible touch and missing chances.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I don't agree that they would, it's not about current form...Giroud simply does not have the ability to do what we are asking of him.....we have no pace on the wing so when he's holding the ball up he's holding it up for the congested cluster of central midfielders where invariably the ball will be cut out by a deep lying defence.
Remy has a nice burst of pace but considering none of our midfield has he would not be much benefit to us on the counter attack as it will fizzle out by the time it gets to him as he doesn't have the strength or ability to take multitudes of players on the way a Higuain or Suarez could.
Balotelli is a very average striker for someone who would cause us so much trouble and completley destroy any dressing room harmony that we had. Bony and Ba we'd have the same problem as Giroud, both would be starved off service left holding up the ball in a congested midfield....and nothing to prove that they have the finesse to kill off the chances against the top sides any more than Giroud has.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I'm not defending Giroud i'm really not, but the names you are mentioning would not leave us any better off....we bought Giroud because he was avaliable and had a good season with Montpellier there was no consideration about how he would fit into our side anymore than there was with Podolski.
In the mean time expect Wenger to drown our squad with a plethora of central midfielders who play exactly the same way in the summer...Draxler etc

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Oh and buying strikers like Mandzukic who will offer us nothing more than Giroud in terms of pace

[selassie]

However, I lay the blame for Giroud's profligacy firmly at Wenger's door. His bids for Suarez and Higuain show that he is well aware that a title challenging team needs a top striker - but he either won't make sure we get one - or his executive team are too inept to enable us to do so. Personally, I think its the former. He would rather throw the league (as long as he thinks he can get 4th) than pay a penny more than his own skewed valuation says a player is worth. Neither will he change the way his team plays and give us some fucking width to allow Giroud more room in the box.


Yep me too, I am pretty certain it's Wenger, his valuations and his lack of flexibility in regards to the teams tactics.

I don't think anyone can really defend Wenger when it comes to his neglect of our forward line, it's borderline criminal. It's not a new trait either, he neglected central midfield and central defence before.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Chamakh was a different level of crapness. With him starting you literally had zero threat up front. With Chamakh we were basically playing 4-5-0. At least with Giroud you have the smallest, remote possibility of a goal because he actually shoots (even if it flies over the bar). Chamakh didn't shoot.

[Power n Glory]

I don't agree that they would, it's not about current form...Giroud simply does not have the ability to do what we are asking of him.....we have no pace on the wing so when he's holding the ball up he's holding it up for the congested cluster of central midfielders where invariably the ball will be cut out by a deep lying defence.
Remy has a nice burst of pace but considering none of our midfield has he would not be much benefit to us on the counter attack as it will fizzle out by the time it gets to him as he doesn't have the strength or ability to take multitudes of players on the way a Higuain or Suarez could.
Balotelli is a very average striker for someone who would cause us so much trouble and completley destroy any dressing room harmony that we had. Bony and Ba we'd have the same problem as Giroud, both would be starved off service left holding up the ball in a congested midfield....and nothing to prove that they have the finesse to kill off the chances against the top sides any more than Giroud has.

It’s madness and goes back to what Blink mentioned in a previous post, there seems to be no forward thinking with these transfers. I have no idea why Wenger is going for these slow and bulky centre forwards who struggle to lose their markers over quick, nimble and mobile strikers. We play quick, short pass and move football. Why buy someone with a dodgy first touch, slow acceleration and poor movement to play up front? I think Remy would be a good shout but it’s not going to happen. The way Ozil and Cazorla were carving out chances is the way to go. Pace, players interchanging and confusing the opposition.

[IBK]

Controversial, but Giroud is probably one of the worst strikers we’ve had leading our line. Right now, he’s playing the sort of football that had everyone berating Chamakh and Bendy. It’s that bad. A poor touch, missing loads of chances whilst remaining immobile and not getting inside the box. It’s like a fusion of both Chamakh and Bendy to create this lump of shit on our pitch. It drives me mental to see him constantly coming towards the ball instead of making runs into the box. He always comes short but what makes him worse than Chamakh is that he’s always coming in with a heavy and clumsy touch. He loses possession a lot when he tries to come short. He’s dispossessed easily and his passing statistics aren’t good enough for him to keep coming deep. We’re talking 50/60% pass completion. We don’t need him coming short all the time just to flick it to the opposition. It’s not intelligent play. He needs a bench.

Mate, I often agree with you, but this time I think you are missing the relevant point, I really do. This is not a defence of Giroud's limited ability, nor overlooking Wenger's scandalous and inexplicable failure to provide his team with an even semi competitive front line.

But Giroud is a perfect example of the problem with Wenger's entire approach to the game. The manager knew damn well that he wasn't buying a modern striker - able to make runs into the box, and score from there, or from outside it. The reason he bought Giroud, IMHO was because of his obsession with playing the game from MF. In Wenger's mind, Giroud was a player who would bring his attacking MF's into the game by holding the ball up and laying it off - and if he scored himself it would be as part of a mobile triangle - if he happened to be on the end of a move. Any other goals he scored would be a bonus rather than the main event.

And when we had the mental and physical wherewithal, and the confidence to play in the manner that Wenger is obsessed with, to the exclusion of everything else, the system worked, and so did Giroud - which is why he is still 7th highest goalscorer, and 7th joint assister in the league.

The problem with Giroud (in addition to not being good enough as our main striker), is the problem with Wenger's system. I've said it before, but Wenger's short, passing, give and go game requires players to be 100% on form physically, mentally - and in particular confidence wise. If they are not on top form as a team (for example short of confidence as we are ATM), and there is no individually brilliant performance to hide our blushes then we struggle attacking-wise. And we cannot expect a player of Giroud's nature and ability suddenly to become the individual goalscorer that we all know our team needs so much.

We are flatlining ATM - Giroud along with several other players - and while its easy to point the finger at Giroud for what he is not. This is a systemic failure - both in terms of method and playing personnel as much as it is Giroud's. Wenger is also seeing even Giroud's undoubted ability to hold the ball up suffer due to him being chronically overplayed (I've heard that this is partially because although he feels Bendtner could deputise, the manager is reluctant to expose Bendtner to the abuse that he is likely to get from fans - which if true is staggering!).

It is interesting to note that Chamakh was a player in a similar mode to Giroud - a give and go merchant rather than a player with a true instinct for goal. He is not as good a forward as Giroud - but he does possess pace - which is why he would for me be a better option for us than Giroud, were he still here. Also, Chamakh was never intended to be our first choice striker - and with Wenger's comical pursuit of Suarez and Higuain, its easy to say the same about Giroud. The astonishing thing is why Wenger has settled for Giroud as basically all we have - and there can be no clearer indication that the manager's ambition lies no higher than 4th in the league.

[Power n Glory]

Mate, I often agree with you, but this time I think you are missing the relevant point, I really do. This is not a defence of Giroud's limited ability, nor overlooking Wenger's scandalous and inexplicable failure to provide his team with an even semi competitive front line.

But Giroud is a perfect example of the problem with Wenger's entire approach to the game. The manager knew damn well that he wasn't buying a modern striker - able to make runs into the box, and score from there, or from outside it. The reason he bought Giroud, IMHO was because of his obsession with playing the game from MF. In Wenger's mind, Giroud was a player who would bring his attacking MF's into the game by holding the ball up and laying it off - and if he scored himself it would be as part of a mobile triangle - if he happened to be on the end of a move. Any other goals he scored would be a bonus rather than the main event.

And when we had the mental and physical wherewithal, and the confidence to play in the manner that Wenger is obsessed with, to the exclusion of everything else, the system worked, and so did Giroud - which is why he is still 7th highest goalscorer, and 7th joint assister in the league.

The problem with Giroud (in addition to not being good enough as our main striker), is the problem with Wenger's system. I've said it before, but Wenger's short, passing, give and go game requires players to be 100% on form physically, mentally - and in particular confidence wise. If they are not on top form as a team (for example short of confidence as we are ATM), and there is no individually brilliant performance to hide our blushes then we struggle attacking-wise. And we cannot expect a player of Giroud's nature and ability suddenly to become the individual goalscorer that we all know our team needs so much.

We are flatlining ATM - Giroud along with several other players - and while its easy to point the finger at Giroud for what he is not. This is a systemic failure - both in terms of method and playing personnel as much as it is Giroud's. Wenger is also seeing even Giroud's undoubted ability to hold the ball up suffer due to him being chronically overplayed (I've heard that this is partially because although he feels Bendtner could deputise, the manager is reluctant to expose Bendtner to the abuse that he is likely to get from fans - which if true is staggering!).

It is interesting to note that Chamakh was a player in a similar mode to Giroud - a give and go merchant rather than a player with a true instinct for goal. He is not as good a forward as Giroud - but he does possess pace - which is why he would for me be a better option for us than Giroud, were he still here. Also, Chamakh was never intended to be our first choice striker - and with Wenger's comical pursuit of Suarez and Higuain, its easy to say the same about Giroud. The astonishing thing is why Wenger has settled for Giroud as basically all we have - and there can be no clearer indication that the manager's ambition lies no higher than 4th in the league.

:gp: Sums up the frustration I have with the manager and player.

[Fist of Lehmann]

What is adequate for our needs though?

Well, this is my honest amateurs opinion.

Given his attributes Sanogo's role would bear similarities to that of Giroud or Bendtner.

To play that role he needs to:

1) Possession
Receive the ball (usually under heavy pressure), lay it off accurately, and win a decent percentage of aerial duels.

2) Shape
Make intelligent attacking runs/take up dangerous positions, show for the forward pass and close down centrebacks.

3) Goal Threat
Take shots/headers and get them on target.

From that it seems clear why we need a better striker and why Walcott and Podolski are only used there in extremis.
Walcott is strong in 3, decent in aspects of 2 and has the great advantage of pace, however his 1 is poor.
Podolski is also strong in 3, has decent touch and link up for 1, but his 2 is weak.

Giroud doesn't do enough of 3, but is brave, extremely hard working, and takes up smart defensive positions at set pieces.
Of the three he could be regarded as just about adequate for our needs.

Sanogo, based on what I have seen of him last summer, is still something of a callow youth - too slight to hold his own against aggressive Premiership CBs, an erratic first touch, and without real speed or little bit burst, he is unlikely to outskill, outpace or overpower any half decent CB.

Of course, he is young, and young guys can develop physically and improve technically very quickly. If he is to be any use to use this season, he will have needed to do that substantially from the summer.

[AFC Leveller]

Giroud shoul be back up to a proper striker. If our number 9 is having a bad game Giroud can come in and cause havock with his strength and aerial ability. However, right now one of the reasons we are soe asy to defend against is because he is playing. He doesnt have pace, a good turn or even a decent shot so his best hope of a goal is when cross come in or in set pieces. As a team, we are frustraingly boring and slow and any half organised team can stifle us.

If we dont sign a striker in the summer then the manager simply has to go because its pure neglect on his part.

[Bergkamplegend]

I still don't get why wenger has more trust in Giroud than in Poldi.:shrug:

Giroud has become a disaster as a striker, and now he's also in the trash papers...:flash:

[Fist of Lehmann]

The astonishing thing is why Wenger has settled for Giroud as basically all we have - and there can be no clearer indication that the manager's ambition lies no higher than 4th in the league.

Sub, in your opinion, had we managed to sign a CF for £42m instead of signing Ozil, would that have been any clearer sign of ambition than what we actually did?

[LDG]

Well, this is my honest amateurs opinion.

Given his attributes Sanogo's role would bear similarities to that of Giroud or Bendtner.

To play that role he needs to:

1) Possession
Receive the ball (usually under heavy pressure), lay it off accurately, and win a decent percentage of aerial duels.

2) Shape
Make intelligent attacking runs/take up dangerous positions, show for the forward pass and close down centrebacks.

3) Goal Threat
Take shots/headers and get them on target.

From that it seems clear why we need a better striker and why Walcott and Podolski are only used there in extremis.
Walcott is strong in 3, decent in aspects of 2 and has the great advantage of pace, however his 1 is poor.
Podolski is also strong in 3, has decent touch and link up for 1, but his 2 is weak.

Giroud doesn't do enough of 3, but is brave, extremely hard working, and takes up smart defensive positions at set pieces.
Of the three he could be regarded as just about adequate for our needs.

Sanogo, based on what I have seen of him last summer, is still something of a callow youth - too slight to hold his own against aggressive Premiership CBs, an erratic first touch, and without real speed or little bit burst, he is unlikely to outskill, outpace or overpower any half decent CB.

Of course, he is young, and young guys can develop physically and improve technically very quickly. If he is to be any use to use this season, he will have needed to do that substantially from the summer.

You wrote good :good:

If RVP wasn't such a complete cunt, we would have had the exact player we needed!

[Fist of Lehmann]

You wrote good :good:

If RVP wasn't such a complete cunt, we would have had the exact player we needed!

Rvp couldn't stay tbf. He didn't like the direction the club was going and he had a little boy up inside him.

[Injury Time]

He's our Bobby Zamora deal with it.

[Alpha]

Giroud is not that bad as people make him look like . He is just tired for playing so many games in a team like Arsenal . Most of our players have done really well this season and they deserve credit for that . It is not by pure luck that we are competing for the title . Just 1 point behind the leaders with 12 games to go , Qualified for the1/4 Final in FA , still in the champions's league ... All those achievements have been possible thanks to these guys we are trying to put down .
The only thing I may say is Giroud need a serious competition to avoid complacency . He was on his toes when he learned Arsenal was after Higuain because he knew he could have lost his place . But with only the inexperienced Sanogo and the uninterested Bendtner as his rivals for the striker spot , he knows he has nothing to fear and he can relax . That would certainly affect his performance .

[selassie]

Giroud is not that bad as people make him look like . He is just tired for playing so many games in a team like Arsenal . Most of our players have done really well this season and they deserve credit for that . It is not by pure luck that we are competing for the title . Just 1 point behind the leaders with 12 games to go , Qualified for the1/4 Final in FA , still in the champions's league ... All those achievements have been possible thanks to these guys we are trying to put down .
The only thing I may say is Giroud need a serious competition to avoid complacency . He was on his toes when he learned Arsenal was after Higuain because he knew he could have lost his place . But with only the inexperienced Sanogo and the uninterested Bendtner as his rivals for the striker spot , he knows he has nothing to fear and he can relax . That would certainly affect his performance .

I personally think Giroud is not good enough to be a starting striker for Arsenal and certainly not good enough to be a starting striker for a team challenging for major honours. He hasn't done badly, but when it comes to the crunch he has been found wanting in the big games. He has had his chances in the big games, pretty straight forward ones at that and he has failed.

In the past we have had the likes of RVP, Henry and Bergkamp. Giroud is a major step down from all of those guys, he is a step down from Ade too.

I have no problems with Giroud being a squad player but I don't want to see him starting as our number 1 striker next season. He's not good enough.

[dazthegooner]

He reminds me of of Alan Smith not an out and out striker cannot play up front on his own need a player like Wrighty with him, He hold the ball up well but not a natural finisher and this will need to be addressed in the summer.

[Power n Glory]

Saw this last week. The stats are telling.

http://le-grove.co.uk/2014/02/14/the-premier-league-striker-stats-you-have-to-see-look-away-olivier/


This Valentines Day, I’m showing the love by giving you two posts in a day. This has been penned by long time Grover, Gambon, who you can congratulate or abuse here @TheMightyGambon… or in the comments section where he is normally found. Enjoy!

After the United game I decided to look at Giroud’s contribution in comparison to other PL strikers that have played regularly over the last 2 seasons. I’ve excluded players like Eto’o and Negredo who haven’t had 2 seasons worth of data, but included the likes of Remy an Lukaku who have 2 seasons with 2 different clubs.

It’s not my intention to single Giroud out, but this is objective data that cant be argued with, by fans, players or even the mighty Wenger.

It’s my opinion that we have 2 huge, glaring issues in the striking department.

1- Huge lack of quality
2- Absolutely no options other than sticking Giroud up top

Bendtner has started precisely one game this season, despite IMO being better than Giroud, which goes to show how stuck in his ways Wenger is, with a complete refusal to give us options.

I have looked at Goals Scored, Goals Per Game, Goals and Assists Per Game, Shot to Goal Ratio, “Big Game” goals and % of goals in Big Games.

Where 2 players have the same score, I have slotted the player with less appearances above the player with more.

Its worth noting that Rickie Lambert aside, Giroud has been the most ever present CF in the PL, playing 58 from a possible 64 games.

I could have tabulated this in one Excel table, but it would’ve been a bit messy and is easier to read as separate tables.

Goals Scored:

Suarez – 46
Van Persie – 36
Aguero – 27
Sturride – 26
Lukaku – 26
Benteke – 26
Lambert – 23
Rooney – 21
Giroud – 21
Remy – 17
Adebayor – 13
Crouch – 13

Now this table alone isn’t hugely telling as it doesn’t account for how many times individuals have played, as I mentioned Giroud has been played near constantly (which is an issue in itself).

Goals Per Game

Suarez – 0.85
Sturridge – 0.81
Van Persie – 0.68
Aguero – 0.57
Remy – 0.48
Lukaku – 0.48
Benteke – 0.47
Rooney – 0.44
Adebayor – 0.36
Giroud – 0.36
Lambert 0.36
Crouch – 0.23

Now this shows our CF to be in pretty poor company, as I’m sure no-one would be over the moon to see us chasing Adebayor or Lambert as CF options, nor would they have been if we were after these guys to replace Van Persie.

What I hear a lot of is that Giroud has some magic ability to knit the team together and an assist record as good as Bergkamp’s.

So below lets take a look at combined Goals & Assists per game, a very good overview on how effective a player is while he is on the pitch.

Suarez – 1.09
Sturridge – 1.03
Van Persie – 0.87
Rooney – 0.83
Aguero – 0.72
Lukaku – 0.64
Benteke – 0.58
Lambert – 0.55
Remy – 0.54
Giroud – 0.51
Adebayor – 0.44
Crouch – 0.37

Once again we find that our ever present CF is competing well down the league and nowhere near as valuable to his team as the likes of Suarez, Sturridge, Rooney and RVP.

Obviously an important measure of quality is goals to shots ratio. A great striker can struggle to score goals if he isn’t getting chances or playing enough minutes, and goals to shots will tell you about the quality of his finishing.

Sturridge – 1 in 4.8
Adebayor – 5.1
Van Persie – 5.3
Aguero – 5.8
Lukaku – 5.8
Benteke – 6
Crouch – 6.3
Remy – 6.4
Suarez – 6.6
Lambert – 6.9
Rooney – 7.3
Giroud – 8.8

This table really surprised me. Not that Giroud was bottom, that was obviously going to be the case, but just how much of an outlier he is in comparison to others. This shows that his finishing is significantly worse than all other regular CFs in the PL.

After the diabolical performances against UTD and Chelsea, where 4 easy chances and 4 points were thrown away, I wanted to look at how Centre Forwards compare in terms of goals in big games, as well as what % of their goals come in these games.

Big games are considered the top 7 teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Spurs, Everton & Man Utd.

This means 12 games per season for top 7 teams and 14 games for bottom 13 teams.

Aguero – 11
Benteke – 10
Van Persie – 9
Sturridge – 8
Lukaku – 8
Suarez – 7
Lambert – 6
Adebayor – 5
Rooney – 5
Crouch – 4
Remy – 3
Giroud – 3

% of goals in “Big Games”

Aguero – 41%
Adebayor – 38%
Benteke – 38%
Sturridge – 31%
Crouch – 31%
Lukaku – 31%
Lambert – 26%
Van Persie – 25%
Rooney – 24%
Suarez – 15%
Giroud – 14%

* Should be noted that Suarez isn’t poor in big games, he’s somewhere in the middle, but his ridiculous record against smaller teams distorts his stats.

So what does this show us? Not a lot that a lot of us didn’t already know.

But it does give a fact based approach to how weak our Centre Forward position is.

Both in depth (Nick doesn’t ever play) and in quality.

In virtually every possible metric we are weaker than a top 4 team should be, and almost certainly weaker than most fans would have realised.

If Wenger came out and said he was after Lambert, Adebayor, Crouch et al to solve the CF position most Arsenal fans would be filled with rage, well I hope after reading this you understand that we don’t have any better right now.

Players like Lambert, Remy are equal to Giroud, and players like Aguero, RVP, Suarez and Sturridge are demonstrably far far better.

Catch me in the comments if you wish to discuss further…

[Özim]

He reminds me of of Alan Smith not an out and out striker cannot play up front on his own need a player like Wrighty with him, He hold the ball up well but not a natural finisher and this will need to be addressed in the summer.

Smith was awesome before Wrighty came along, he scored loads of goals, then Wrighty was signed and he forgot how to score which was odd (so did the other strikers).

[dazthegooner]

Smith was awesome before Wrighty came along, he scored loads of goals, then Wrighty was signed and he forgot how to score which was odd (so did the other strikers).

Yep always remember his winner against Roma :) We were supposed to be destroyed had no chance but the famous back five done us proud :trophy:

[Özim]

Yep always remember his winner against Roma :) We were supposed to be destroyed had no chance but the famous back five done us proud :trophy:

I guess you mean Parma (looks like you didn't remember ;) ), but yeah that was a great moment!

[Özim]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQDULgLXwBs

[dazthegooner]

I guess you mean Parma (looks like you didn't remember ;) ), but yeah that was a great moment!

lol must have been pissed at the time (for a change) but in honesty they do sound the same :unsure:

[LDG]

Asprilla, Zola and Brolin all in that side....

Our team looks shit on paper.

[Özim]

Asprilla, Zola and Brolin all in that side....

Our team looks shit on paper.

Always remember that goal for Brolin against England in Euro 92, great commentary too:

Brolin...........Dahlin...........Brolin.........B RILLIANT! (couldn't find the clip with ITV commentary)

[Dein-machine]

I thought we bought him because we never had a Plan B ie a more direct threat when our "eye of the needle" passing wasn't happening. However due to us having Scrooge as a manager we were unable to find a replacement for RVP or anyone else that would fit into Plan A. So we start a season with a Plan A midfield & a Plan B striker. Its not his fault bless him, he apologised for his display at Anfield but he's really doing nothing wrong - he's just not very good, I've seen better non-league strikers.

[selassie]

Thomas Brolin :o

http://permanentplastichelmet.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/brolin.jpg

[Özim]

Thomas Brolin :o

http://permanentplastichelmet.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/brolin.jpg

Yeah he became a fitness instructor after he retired.

[dazthegooner]

Yeah he became a fitness instructor after he retired.


Well he seems to have lost weight since he played for Crystal Palace :)

[Chippy]

He's shit. Can't score goals. Can't hold the ball up. What does he do?

Won't win us trophies going forward.

What's the point in keeping him around ?

Get rid in the summer.
:blink::console:

[Munchies]

:blink::console:

Can't cut it against the bigger tests which have come and are to come.

[Chippy]

Can't cut it against the bigger tests which have come and are to come.
None of them can TBH Munchies, but Giroud needed a rest and was sharp today.

[milla]

Still shite

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Ahhhhh love you

[Chippy]

Still shite
WTF??
Better than Bendtner and Sanogo.
Best we got up front TBH.

[adzzzbatch]

I think Sanogo offers a lot more movement and he's quicker than Giroud too. I'd like to see a lot more of him he should definitely get as much game time as Giroud does. Neither are good enough to be in an Arsenal starting 11 as neither are world class, but I'd rather have Sanogo as the back up.

[Chippy]

I think Sanogo offers a lot more movement and he's quicker than Giroud too. I'd like to see a lot more of him he should definitely get as much game time as Giroud does. Neither are good enough to be in an Arsenal starting 11 as neither are world class, but I'd rather have Sanogo as the back up.
Agree with the "world class" comment, but Sanago looks out of his depth TBH.

[GP]

Sanogo has proven precisely zero. Everything else is rose tinted bullshit.

[Letters]

Still shite
Well, no.

There is a huge middle ground between "ZOMG! He's better than Henry!!1!11!" and "Shite".
He's...OK. Not good enough to lead the line in a title winning side but competent enough and does a job.
We need more up front but I'd suggest that's as well as Giroud, not instead of.

[fakeyank]

He has got 18 goals and 8 assists so far this season. I think he is definitely 'Arsenal' class. Comments about there being better strikers in the 2nd division are just complete WUMery.. some players will never get the rub of the green from the fans unfortunately.

[Marc Overmars]

The guy just needs someone else to carry the workload with him.

[Grebbo]

Giroud's a really good striker, obviously not world class but certainly a long way from average. Scored two good goals yesterday (his second was an excellent finish when you see it from behind the goal) and gave a sublime touch to assist Rosicky's wonder goal.

I'm surprised more hasn't been made of Wenger playing Sanogo instead of Giroud against Bayern. For me that was an absolutely shocking decision.

[Özim]

I've got two issues with him, when he plays we're not very good to watch as we tend to play slow tippy tappy football, his finishing in big games isn't good enough, you don't get many chances in those games and you need to take them, he seems to miss those chances.

[Alpha]

Very hash comments on Giroud really . He is not a world class striker but not a bad striker at all . You always think your neighbour 's wife is better than your one until you divorce and realise you have lost a jewel .
Giroud will certainly improve and prove many people wrong .

Even RVP was not scoring in big games when he joined . It is only in his last two season before he left that he showed us his class . Not really surprised as even Wenger who is said to be the best manager in Arsenal history got some sticks from certain fans who think he is not good enough to coach Arsenal .
It is perhaps a matter of human nature . We tend not to be satisfied with anything .

[Letters]

I've got two issues with him, when he plays we're not very good to watch as we tend to play slow tippy tappy football, his finishing in big games isn't good enough, you don't get many chances in those games and you need to take them, he seems to miss those chances.

Definitely agree with the second of those. He's had chances in a few big games this year, missed them and we've dropped points. That's where we need that world class, clinical striker.

[IBK]

Still shite


Nah - not shite. He is a good front man - particularly as part of a team goal - as shown today. Is he a lethal world beating striker, no. But he is better than some have recently suggested, and I'm pleased that he showed the bottle/talent to bag 2 and 1 assist today.

[selassie]

[QUOTE=Alpha;374

[JonasTC]

Wasnt he a winger aswell, when he joined us? (Just to add, why it took him some time to develop).