Olivier Giroud may leave
Arsenal this summer
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil aren’t the only Arsenal attackers
who might leave the club this summer. Prolific centre forward Olivier Giroud is
also a flight risk. He fired off some troubling words to manager Arsene Wenger
as it relates to next season.
The
French forward claims that his manager is counting on him ahead of next season.
Unfortunately for the Arsenal faithful, he also insists he won’t accept the
diminished role that he filled for the club last season. If he
doesn’t get a larger role in the squad he could easily be off this summer.
Marseille are the club
most prominently linked with both Giroud and countryman Laurent Koscielny. They
certainly aren’t as talented as Arsenal on the pitch, but the path to the
starting XI would be much easier for Giroud with the Ligue 1 club. At this
stage of his career, Giroud might be tempted to play for a lesser club if he
can be counted on as one of their main men.
The ability to receive regular starts will be particularly
important if Giroud intends on keeping his place with the French national team.
There are a litany of young attackers threatening to oust him from the squad.
Playing as Arsenal’s third striker won’t give him enough opportunities to show
Didier Deschamps he’s still worthy of a spot in the team.
In
fairness to Wenger, it does seem obvious that Giroud’s proper role in the squad
is as a second striker off the bench. He lacks the speed and quickness to
thrive as a starter. However, he still has a keen eye for goal that allows him
to be an immense threat off the bench. Wenger can ill-afford to lose his potent
Plan B as he tries to climb back into the top four next season.
Ultimately, expect Wenger
to smooth things over with his prolific French striker. He and Giroud have
enjoyed an immensely productive relationship over the years and they clearly
trust one another. It would be a huge surprise to see Giroud abandon his long time
manager in his time of need.
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