3. Mixed bag for Arsenal’s strikers
Aside from his disappointing performance against Monaco in the first leg, where he missed a flurry of chances, Giroud has certainly had a very good season, considering he was out injured early on. Eight goals in his last nine league games, eight in six against Newcastle and thanks to his brace, the French striker is now the joint leading league goalscorer for the Londoners along with Alexis Sanchez. He scored goals, linked up play well and in the second half even took a few knocks for his troubles and showed just why he is the best striker in the side.
But the man they brought in to replace, or at least compliment Giroud showed once again why he isn’t the finished article, even at 24. Danny Welbeck is a wonderful athlete, he is a pretty good footballer too, he covers plenty of yards and is versatile enough to play as a striker or on the wings. In more ways than one, he is a very useful player to have in the squad, but the thing that stops the Englishman from becoming a truly world-class striker is his end product. Just like he did against Newcastle, far too often, he either fluffs his line in front of goal and puts in the wrong ball from the wings. At 24, that can no longer be written off as a lack of experience and it is time Welbeck did something about or he might find himself looking out for another club soon.