Why Arsenal Will Not Win the Premier League with Olivier Giroud in Attack

If Arsenal are to win the Premier League this season, Olivier Giroud seems likely to play a significant part. However, unlike in previous years, he is not the undisputed first-choice centre-forward. Arsenal’s potential triumph may be dependent on him playing second fiddle to a different kind of striker.

At the start of this season, Giroud lost his place in Arsene Wenger’s preferred attacking line-up. It was a process of evolution that began at the back end of the 2014/15 campaign, when Wenger opted for Theo Walcott ahead of the Frenchman for the FA Cup Final against Aston Villa.

When the new campaign rolled around, Wenger seemed keen to implement a more flexible attacking style based around Walcott’s speed and mobility.

However, when the England international pulled up with a calf problem during the Capital One Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, Giroud was granted a reprieve.

On an individual basis, he has been in excellent form. The competition appears to have brought the best out of the former Montpellier man, who has now notched seven goals in his last 11 appearances for the club. 

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However, the team’s form has not been quite so impressive. Giroud may have scored during last week’s match against West Brom, but Arsenal also slid to a defeat which means they have now won just two of their last six games. 

As good as Giroud has been, the team does seem to function better when he is replaced in the XI by a quicker striker such as Walcott. With his pace up top, Arsenal were building a multi-faceted threat. With just Giroud, the Gunners can become more predictable.

After all, he has been the starting centre-forward for the last few seasons at Arsenal, and despite some excellent individual performances, he has not brought them particularly close to lifting the title. Some reinvention was clearly required, and Walcott appears to be capable of offering the freshness Wenger craves. 

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The England international also brings the best out of other players in the side. Santi Cazorla’s deep-lying playmaking role grows in influence when he has the option of picking out Walcott with raking through balls. Mesut Ozil has been in imperious form of late, combining regularly with Giroud, but he could arguably be even better if he were able to feed a runner with Walcott’s electric speed.

Then there’s Alexis Sanchez. One might imagine the Chilean would thrive off Giroud’s robust hold-up play, but he actually tends to fare better when deployed alongside a striker with speed. His best spells in the team have come when playing alongside either Walcott or forgotten man Danny Welbeck. Their willingness to drift wide and drag defenders away seems to create more space in the middle for Alexis to thrive.

Giroud has already shown he has a major part to play in Arsenal’s season. In Walcott’s absence, his goals have been hugely valuable. However, he has not necessarily won a long-term place. His major contributions may come in the cup competitions and as an alternative to Walcott from the bench.

While there will be occasions that call for Giroud’s more physical style, Wenger will surely look to revert back to using Walcott regularly sooner rather than later.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.