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Arsenal should keep Giroud for next season

By Abdullah Mamaniyat

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 15: Olivier Giroud of Arsenal celebrates scoring to make it 2-0 during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on May 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 15: Olivier Giroud of Arsenal celebrates scoring to make it 2-0 during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on May 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Where football and Olivier Giroud are concerned, there are not many other players in the world who can divide opinion more than the Arsenal and France forward can.

It would be fair to say that he doesn’t get the amount of respect that he truly deserves either by his national or club side. Where the fanatics will point out his impressive goal to game ratios, his critics would prefer to call it stat padding.

The forward has impressed at Euro 2016 in the absence of Karim Benzema, leading his country to the final of the competition against Portugal on Sunday, contributing to 3 goals and 2 assists with one more game to play where he is expected to start.

France boss Didier Deschamps’ trust in him has paid off to his relief, with many French fans vocal in their displeasure in the run up to, and even during the early stages of the tournament. But the 29-year-old has excelled by his own standards and will look to play an important part in Paris on Sunday.

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In light of rumours suggesting that several clubs are keen on his services for the upcoming season, it would actually be a wise decision from Arsene Wenger to keep the Frenchman. Perhaps not as one carrying the whole burden of Arsenal’s entire attack though. It is widely expected, or rather hoped by Arsenal fans, that Giroud will get a strike partner for 2016/17. A few names have been mentioned, with fellow Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette and Alvaro Morata being linked with a move to North London.

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Antoine Griezmann has been someone who has thrilled playing in behind Giroud at the Euros. His combination of speed and movement to be able to run in behind the defence has allowed Giroud and his impressive link up play to be able to operate in wider spaces in front of the defence where he wouldn’t be instantly ousted by central defenders for his lack of space and physicality.

Lacazette in particular with his pace, would allow Giroud to operate in a similar partnership – however, the abundance of quality in midfield would mean someone would have to be sacrificed if a 2 striker system was played to allow both of these Frenchmen to play alongside each other.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry also thinks this would be a logical choice, according to Sky Sport News:

"He [Giroud]’s a very good player but he needs to play with someone.Giroud, with his back to goal, is very good; you saw the goal against Ireland when Giroud flicked on and Griezmann scored. He can’t turn and outpace anyone, Giroud, but in Griezmann he has a guy he can feed. It’s a great partnership. They share the workload of scoring goals."

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The bottom line remains that Olivier Giroud is in fact a good asset for Arsenal Football Club to keep, but it can only be a saviour in a top quality centre forward that can accompany the Frenchman next season where Giroud can still thrive in the Premier League, in low-key fashion.

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