Tuesday 1 November 2016 22:52, UK
Alexis Sanchez has usurped Olivier Giroud as Arsenal's first-choice striker but the Frenchman still has an important role to play for the Gunners, writes Nick Wright…
Arsene Wenger could not have asked for more from Olivier Giroud against Sunderland on Saturday. The striker turned a potentially nervous finale into a procession for Arsenal, scoring with each of his first two touches after coming off the bench for his first Premier League appearance in a month.
They were "two great finishes", according to Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry. Giroud showed predatory instincts when he hooked Kieran Gibbs' low cross into the net for the first, and he demonstrated aerial strength for the second, glancing Mesut Ozil's corner over Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from an acute angle.
It was a welcome return for a player who has been a frustrated spectator for much of the season. Giroud has played just 123 minutes for Arsenal so far. He is yet to start a single game after a slow return to fitness following Euro 2016, and his goals against Sunderland were his first of the campaign.
It's unfamiliar territory for Giroud. Incredibly, the Frenchman played in 89 per cent of Arsenal's Premier League games in his first four seasons at the club, missing just 17 fixtures out of 152. He has attracted plenty of criticism and there have been brief periods out of the team, but for the most part he has been Wenger's first-choice striker ever since Robin van Persie's departure in 2012.
That's changed this season. Wenger's decision to use Alexis Sanchez through the middle looked like a doomed experiment after the Chilean's anonymous display in Arsenal's 4-3 defeat by Liverpool on the opening day of the season, but he has made the role his own after a slow start.
With Sanchez leading the line, Arsenal's attack is fast, fluid and effective. Even on Saturday, when Giroud's goals rescued the Gunners, it was Sanchez who was named man-of-the-match. He showed remarkable athleticism and determination to beat Lamine Kone to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross for the opener, and he combined quick feet and quick thinking for his second.
Sanchez ran Sunderland's defence ragged, with only Hector Bellerin making more sprints. He should have had a penalty after being hauled to the floor by Kone before Jermain Defoe's equaliser, and he played a crucial role in Giroud's first goal, accelerating away from Didier N'Dong and Duncan Watmore before feeding Gibbs to provide the assist.
Sanchez has now scored eight goals and claimed five assists in 13 appearances this season, and his new role boosting his team-mates, too. Sanchez's movement has given the likes of Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil more opportunities to get into central positions, and they are scoring freely as a result.
So what now for Giroud? His return to form and fitness presents a dilemma for Wenger. The Arsenal manager said he could pair him with Sanchez in a 4-4-2 formation after the Sunderland game, but that would compromise Arsenal's new-found speed in attack. Giroud is a focal point. He does not inter-change positions like Sanchez, and he can't match his team-mate's mobility either.
He can be a plan B. I don’t know if he will be happy coming off the bench but I think you win titles like that. Manchester United had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham. Man City had Edin Dzeko and we had Sylvain Wiltord. Can he accept that?
Instead, Giroud becomes Arsenal's plan B. His strengths do not fit with the free-flowing attacking structure that has proved so effective in the early stages of this season, but his double against Sunderland was a reminder of his qualities, and he gives Wenger the option to play in a different way.
He certainly would have been useful against Middlesbrough last month. Aitor Karanka's side showed exactly how to negate Arsenal's new-look attack. Their deep defensive line left no space in behind for Wenger's speedy attackers to exploit, and their packed central midfield forced the Gunners to the flanks.
Wenger's side delivered 20 crosses from open play that day - their highest total of the season so far - but only two of them found an Arsenal shirt and they carried little threat without a target like Giroud to aim for. At the Stadium of Light a week later, it was fitting that both of his goals came from crosses.
"Olivier is a guy who is mentally absolutely fantastic," said Wenger afterwards. "He's strong and every time he's questioned, he gives you the right answer on the pitch. I admire that in him. He's a guy who has gone through some different questions."
Arsenal's attack is evolving and Giroud is unlikely to feature as prominently this season as in previous years, but Wenger still needs him. If Saturday's game is anything to go by, his supporting role could be just as important.
