Olivier Giroud Is No Longer 1st Choice, but He Is a Great Plan B for Arsenal

In the week leading up to Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Chelsea, Olivier Giroud was absent with a reported toe injury. That meant he was never likely to start the London derby. However, even if he had been fully fit, it’s improbable that he would have been picked. After years of being the undisputed first-choice striker at the Emirates Stadium, the indications are that he has finally fallen from grace. 

It’s a considerable about-turn from manager Arsene Wenger, who has retained faith in Giroud pretty consistently since his arrival from Montpellier. Asked by the BBC (h/t Sam Long of the Evening Standard) at the end of last season whether the Frenchman would remain the spearhead of the Arsenal attack, Wenger spoke with a degree of certainty: 

"

Yes. I believe that Danny Welbeck being out now for a long, long time we will be on the road to look for one more striker.

After that it's down to compete. Olivier has strong and weak moments so we have to deal with that.

He is a bit unbelievable—he is in cycles. He scores in spells and then sometimes he scores less.

"

That’s an accurate assessment of Giroud’s performances last season. After a strong first half of the campaign, he endured a nightmarish run-in in which he could not buy a goal. Nevertheless, he was the only player to figure in every one of Arsenal’s Premier League games in 2015/16, and he finished the season with an impressive tally of 16 league goals, making him the club’s top scorer. 

Xavier Laine/Getty Images

However, since the start of this season, there has been a change. When Giroud was left out of the first few games, the decision was justified by the fact that the forward had reached the final of Euro 2016. The player himself told James Benge of the Evening Standard:  

"

My club situation? I’m not worried, I came back very late from the Euros. It was normal to throw me in gradually. There is no problem on that side.

"

Publicly, at least, Wenger has concurred. As recently as mid-September, he told John Cross of the Mirror: 

"

He (Giroud) was a bit behind at the start. Fitness-wise he has been behind Koscielny and Ozil. At the start it took him some time to get back. Since the last week, he’s slowly getting back to full fitness now.

"

There is a logic to what Giroud and Wenger say. Arsenal have been burnt in the past after rushing back players who’ve participated in summer tournaments. However, we’re now almost into October, and Giroud looks no closer to reclaiming a permanent place. There’s more to this than a mere lack of match practice.  

The problem is that in his absence Arsenal have found an attacking formula that appears to make them a superior side. Last season, Wenger experimented with using Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck as the focal point of his front line, with varying degrees of success. What became apparent was that deploying an attacker with pace gave Arsenal a more varied threat.

Giroud is among the best in the Premier League at what he does. There are few strikers more proficient in the air, and fewer still with his ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play. However, there are deficiencies to his game. His lack of speed means he doesn’t offer a great threat in-behind, and defences can be certain they’ll find him within the width of the penalty box with his back to goal.

His style can lead to Arsenal being caught in a game of perennial pinball, desperately trying to fire a wall-pass off the Frenchman’s frame in the home of unlocking a tightly packed defence. 

FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images

With Giroud unavailable at the start of the season, and Arsenal yet to bring in Spanish forward Lucas Perez, Wenger was forced to line up with Alexis Sanchez through the middle. He obviously liked what he saw—the Chilean has not started in another role this season. 

Against Chelsea, the benefit of using a more mobile centre-forward was obvious. Arsenal looked like a team transformed. Their attack was direct, diverse and difficult to contain. They were able to counter-attack at breakneck speed, and it’s surely no coincidence that Mesut Ozil enjoyed one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt.

With a trio of sprinters ahead of him, Ozil suddenly has a variety of options every time he gets on the ball. Defences are forced to back off, unclear of which pass he’ll pick. When he knocks the ball through, Alexis is infinitely more likely to get on to the end of a searching ball than Giroud. 

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

It was telling that when the Frenchman eventually came off the bench, Arsenal’s attacking threat diminished. The likes of Gary Cahill are far more comfortable facing a traditional target man in Giroud’s familiar mould.

Alexis is not going anywhere in a hurry. Arsenal are on a roll, and their new attacking shape is integral to that. For the first time since he broke into the Gunners side, Giroud is definitively second choice.

What a second choice, though. If Arsenal’s new approach is ever failing, it’s a tremendous luxury to have a player of Giroud’s ability available on the bench. Having him in reserve enables them to change their game instantaneously—he offers a dangerous target for crosses and set pieces should the Gunners choose to change their game.

There are also likely to be matches when Wenger plumps for him specifically to deal with the aerial threat of another side—his ability to clear his lines at defensive set pieces is often overlooked. Like Didier Drogba during his Chelsea days, Giroud can be effective in both penalty boxes.

However, Giroud won’t be thrilled by the suggestion he be relegated to mere bit-part player. After all, he has his international place to consider. In the past, he’s shown real resilience to see off the challenge from new signings such as Welbeck. This time, though, it feels as if he is fighting a losing battle. 

Some will suggest this is what Giroud should have been all along: a reliable "Plan B." The problem is that it has taken Arsenal so long to find a functional "Plan A." While Giroud recovered from the Euros, Wenger was forced to find a solution. Necessity has proved the mother of invention. Alexis and Arsenal are the big beneficiaries, and Giroud the unfortunate victim of progress. 

The Gunners are quickly evolving beyond the Frenchman. Typically of the player, Giroud is struggling to keep up.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.