Arsene Wenger finally decided to break the bank and ease the Arsenal fans’ worries of lack of signings this summer with a move for Alexandre Lacazette. Arsenal tabled a whooping £52.7million bid to ink Lacazette as the club-record signing as they secured the services of the 26-year-old Frenchman and without any shadow of doubt, the Gunners do look like a side who are capable of mounting a serious challenge for the Premier League title.
Lacazette mustered 28 goals and registered two assists in 30 appearances for Lyon in Ligue 1 last season and emerged as one of the most sought after assets in the game for very obvious reasons.
The North London were heavily interested in signing him from the very onset as they lacked a consistent goalscorer in the previous seasons. His arrival leaves another striker in the form of Olivier Giroud in a pretty awkward situation in terms of his stature as well as his future under Wenger.
Reports have started to surface that Giroud is a target of some of the major clubs in the continent and could be shown the exit door. Considering the likelihood that he might not be featuring for Arsenal regularly, other clubs might tempt him with the prospect of affording him regular game time on the pitch.
The 30-year-old, however, was in a decent form last season as he found the back of the net on 12 occasions in the Premier League and mustered three assists as well in 29 appearances (18 of which had been off the bench).
The French international, despite his good goal scoring rate, has been a subject of immense criticism ever since spearheading Arsenal’s attack post the departure of Robin van Persie. Giroud might not be a prolific poacher, but he still has the ability to be an instrumental figure in scoring goals for his side. His ability to link up play has often been appreciated by the neutrals even though the same criticise him for his lack of consistency in front of goal.
Selling the former Montpellier striker would make very little sense at this point in time. The 13-time league winners do have depth in their attacking arsenal, with the likes of Danny Welbeck and Lucas Perez available, but Giroud is a different package entirely.
He holds the ball well up front, creates adequate goal-scoring chances for his teammates, contributes defensively and has moulded himself as a complete footballer now and thus, he should not be the one falling under the axe to free some space.
