Arsenal Injury Update and Opinion
News coming in hasn’t pleased many Arsenal fans, the club didn’t buy a striker in the transfer window, something that the fans have been demanding for quite a while and then the other news hits them that Danny Welbeck will have to undergo surgery and will be out for a few months at least.
The problem isn’t the fact that Welbeck had to go under the knife but the fact that Arsenal knew about this condition before the end of the window and they still did not do enough to sign a new striker, someone who can take the pressure off Giroud or even take over from Giroud and score a bucket load of goals for the Gunners. Welbeck being injured for a long time shouldn’t actually be a problem for Arsenal though.
Welbeck out, but that isn’t a concern for Arsenal
The Gunners shouldn’t actually miss out on the services of Welbeck until he comes back from injury. Last season, the 24-year-old speedster managed just 8 goals from 34 appearances in all competitions and more often than not, he was played as a winger and not a striker. The times he did play as the out and out striker, he didn’t really impress anyone all that much.
Arsenal needed someone who can take over from Giroud and push the Gunners to the next level, currently with Welbeck missing games till Christmas, this injury setback shouldn’t harm Arsenal all that much. The Gunners have a strong squad and there are many players who can either play on the wings or as a striker, if the need arises.
Who can step up as a striker?
There will be a time to either rest Giroud and replacing the Frenchman would not be as mammoth a task as some expect it to be. There are a lot of players in the Arsenal squad who can play as a striker; Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez are just two of those who can take a striker’s role. Walcott played as the lone striker for Arsenal against Newcastle and he might not have done brilliantly in that role, but he did get a couple of great chances to score, but he couldn’t take them.
Sanchez might be playing out wide but he was one of the top scorers when he was playing at Udinese before he joined Barcelona and it was at the Italian club where he made his mark as a great attacker and is seen as someone who can take over Giroud’s role.
Arsenal have Ozil, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rosicky and Ramsey to play on the wings, in case Sanchez has to take up the role. The wealth of talent is great at Arsenal but the only problem is keeping them fit and that is something which Arsenal have to achieve if they are to do well this season.