Sunday 26 July 2015 10:47, UK
Arsenal’s game with Lyon offered the chance to compare the two Frenchmen. Here’s Adam Bate's verdict from the Emirates Stadium...
The suspicion that Arsenal need a superior striker to Olivier Giroud is unlikely to be changed by anything that the Frenchman does in the Emirates Cup this weekend, but this was yet another performance that showed exactly what he does bring to Arsene Wenger’s team.
Giroud opened the scoring in Arsenal’s emphatic 6-0 demolition of a Lyon team that included proposed transfer target Alexandre Lacazette by forcing the ball home under pressure from Mesut Ozil’s free-kick. But that was just the start of his involvement.
Moments later, Giroud expertly delayed his pass to allow the onrushing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to add a second and after the interval he was able to return the favour owed to Ozil – dinking the ball into the playmaker’s path for Arsenal’s fifth goal.
Aside from these decisive interventions in a one-sided contest, there were all the usual qualities that Arsenal supporters have become accustomed to - the lay-offs to team-mates and the unselfish movement, drifting wide to create space for others.
The contrast with Lacazette, feeding off scraps at the other end, is unlikely to have been lost on Wenger. The 24-year-old undoubtedly has assets of his own, most notably the speed that Giroud lacks, and his achievement of outscoring everyone else in Ligue 1 last season has captured attention.
And yet, it’s difficult to suppose that the Lyon frontrunner could provide such an effective pivot for Arsenal’s wall passes and off-the-ball runs. When Lacazette had the chance to lift the ball to a team-mate near the area, he could only fluff his kick and the move broke down. It was not his day.
Even so, for Giroud, the questions will continue. “I'm afraid, they need a top, top-quality striker in order to win this league again,” Arsenal legend Thierry Henry told Sky Sports in April. The comments might have annoyed his compatriot but they are not without substance.
I'm afraid, they need a top, top-quality striker in order to win this league again.
Each of the last six teams to win the title have had a player that has scored 20 goals or more that season. Giroud has not managed to hit that tally in any of his three seasons at the club and has been outscored by attacking midfielders in two of them. At least he appears to recognise the issue.
“I don't have a precise target but I want to score more goals than last year,” said the 27-year-old. “It would be nice to score more than 20 and at least 17 in the Premier League.” Perhaps his performance against Lyon could persuade his manager to give him that opportunity.
In his post-match press conference Wenger afforded himself a chuckle at the thought of his team putting six past Lyon against the backdrop of the demands for him to sign a striker. His choice of words – “good dynamic”… “more cohesion” – hinted at what Giroud’s presence brings.
He added: “If I can’t keep everybody happy why should I buy more players? We are open-minded but we are not in desperate need.” It echoed his recent comments that working together is “more important than dreaming about finding a miraculous player who wins you everything”.
It’s not what every Arsenal fan wants to hear. But anyone clinging to the dream that Lacazette could be that player got the benefit of a close-up look at the reality on Saturday. Giroud’s flaws remain. But finding someone more effective than the much-maligned Arsenal forward is a tricky business.
