Arsenal: Players Who Must Step Up for the Crisis-Hit Gunners

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Arsenal lost yet another game this week.

This time it was Olympiakos who got the better of the Gunners in a Champions League match that was, truth be told, largely irrelevant.

However, Arsene Wenger's men are now winless in their last four outings, and the fans have already expressed their worry and discontent.

Continue reading and find out which players need to step up for the crisis-hit Gunners in the upcoming weeks.

Olivier Giroud

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OK, we all know the story.

Olivier Giroud was bought as a replacement for the outgoing Robin Van Persie and has so far failed miserably in the Premier League.

The Frenchman has just started finding his feet in England, but he needs to step it up if he wants to truly replace Van Persie and be a 20+ goal scorer that Arsenal so desperately need.

Four goals from 10 appearances are not that bad of an effort, but it still isn't what fans expected when the former Montpellier man joined Arsenal.

Lukas Podolski

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Perhaps Arsenal's biggest signing of the summer, Podolski has been generally disappointing in his displays.

With just four goals from 17 appearances for the club, the new Arsenal No. 9 hasn't been as devastating as fans hoped he'd be. What is more, Podolski's work rate (poor and almost nonexistent), is another area that needs to improve.

At the moment, Podolski is neither great going forward nor helping the defense.

Wojciech Szczesny

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Last season, Wojciech Szczesny was arguably the most outstanding player in the Arsenal squad, aside from Van Persie.

A couple of moths later, the Arsenal goalkeeper is frequently making ridiculous mistakes and is one of the most unreliable players in London.

Nobody knows what exactly happened, but one thing is for sure—the Poland international needs to return to his form as soon as possible, or he will risk being dropped to the bench.

Talk of Arsene Wenger pursuing the Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina (The Guardian) are another sign of Szczesny's sudden decline at Arsenal.

Jack Wilshere

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Yes, I do know Jack Wilshere returned from a severe injury a month ago.

However, Wenger needs virtually every player at peak form in order to get Arsenal back on the track.

Wilshere's indifferent displays have been well documented in the statistics for his first seven games of the season. Wilshere was involved in only one goal, against Montpellier in the Champions League.

That simply is not enough from the greatest Arsenal prospect.

Provided that he gets in a good run of form, Wilshere could be a key player in the Arsenal revival.