It strikes me that Arsenal now have competition for places all over their squad. Depending on how you look at it, that’s either a sign that the Gunners have great strength in depth, or evidence that Arsene Wenger doesn’t really know what his best team is.
There’s been a lot of talk about Arsenal’s defense this season. They’ve got three top class centre-backs in Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, all of whom arguably deserve a starting role. The debate has been over which pairing works best – the general consensus being that Per Mertesacker needs to partner either Vermaelen or Koscielny and that the latter two can’t play alongside each other.
Upfront, it’s not that simple. Having sold Robin Van Persie to their rivals last summer, the Gunners are struggling to find their first choice striker through the middle.
There are a few players now competing for this honour, including: Gervinho, Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott, but who deserves the nod?
It’s difficult to criticize Gervinho given his scoring form this season. He has already grabbed five goals, whilst providing that air of unpredictability that keeps opponent’s on their toes. Yet his frenetic, random approach play and his inability to find his team-mates’ wavelengths make him a poor choice for the centre-forward role. I’d rather see him pushed out wide and left to bamboozle full-backs.
Lukas Podolski is possibly the best finisher in the squad, but he’s also doing fairly well out on the right. As such, there’s no real need to move him about.
Olivier Giroud hasn’t looked too special since moving from Ligue 1 to the Premier League. Whilst he’s grabbed two goals (one against Coventry City in the League Cup and one against West Ham on Saturday) he has missed many more chances. He’s got a long way to go before he proves himself and I hope he’s offered more chances to shine.
But the man who surely deserves a shot is Theo Walcott. He’s bided his time out on the wings for long enough now and it’s time that he was brought in from the cold. Yes, his contract situation doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence, but you can tell how much his goal against West Ham meant to him. He’s Arsenal’s fastest player and he’s a smart finisher (his goals against the Hammers and Coventry were indeed Thierry Henry-esque). If he was played high up the pitch (potentially even feeding off flick-ons from Giroud) I think he’d be a real asset.
So maybe it’s time that Arsene Wenger gave him a genuine shot? What’s your take?
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Podolsky has been playing on the left Harry!
Not if you ve been watching the Tele in the mirror
I stopped reading when you said podolski plays on the left . What a clown, I bet your one of those tits who wanted wenger out last season
Bad article, Theo does not deserve CF, let him improve more at rs
Giroud is a total footballer and deserves to start most games. Giroud adds more to our defense whenever he starts. Arsenal has not conceded many goals when Giroud started. He should be first choice for our tough and physical games. If Giroud and Diaby were together for the Chelsea, we would have won. Good to se Walcott enjoying himself, he should forget about Rvp and start supplying Giroud just as Giroud fed him in the Westham game. Better things to happen things this season.
Alot of People underestimate Giroud he hasn’t been banging in the goals but he shots are always great, he’s great at distracting opposition defenders and he makes good runs. Not to mentions he’s made like 5 assists in all competitions. I think he’d score more if he gets a constant supply of balls.