Olivier Giroud turned out to be Arsenal’s saviour once again as he came off the bench on Sunday afternoon to earn the Gunners a valuable late point against Southampton in their top four pursuit.
It’s the sort of narrative that has played out many a time since the Frenchman arrived in London from Montpellier in 2012, and once again Arsene Wenger was indebted to his impact off the bench.
It seemed for all the world that a stoic rear-guard effort from the Saints was going to secure them the three points in an entertaining encounter, denting Arsenal’s hopes of a Champions League qualification spot in the process, until Giroud popped up with a delicate header in the 88th minute.
It was a timely reminder of just how important the 31-year-old still is to this Arsenal side despite being pushed down the pecking order since the signing of fellow Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette over the summer.
Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign he’s failed to make the starting line-up even once in the Premier League, managing just 267 minutes of football across 12 cameo appearances from the bench, and instead he’s been reduced to playing Europa League football in a reserve Arsenal side.
Despite his lack of regular action, there’s certainly still a case for having Giroud as a third forward.
He may have only played 267 minutes of top-flight football so far this season but he’s still found the back of the net three times – a tally that is more than Mesut Ozil (2) and only one less than Alexis Sanchez, who’s played 709 minutes more – so there’s no doubting his prowess when in front of goal.
It’s been a prominent trait of Giroud over the years that if he plays he scores, and a tally of 12 goals from 29 league appearances last season just further highlights how much of an impact he may have.
The issue is whether he would get the opportunities from Wenger as the season goes on, but in terms of the near future it’s likely that he’ll get increased game-time as the fixtures start to ramp up.
The Gunners will play eight games in just 27 days between now and January 7, six of which come in the Premier League, and Wenger will have little choice but to rotate to keep his players fresh and fit.
This will no doubt allow the Frenchman to start at some point and, given Arsenal are playing sides like West Ham, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and West Brom, there’s a great chance for Giroud to score.
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