The Perfect Attacker To Replace Walcott? 3 Reasons Why Arsenal Should Go For Pint-sized Italian

Arsenal have been left light in the striking department yet again following the injury to Theo Walcott who faces six months on the sidelines. With Olivier Giroud and Niklas Bendtner as the only senior strikers in the squad, Arsenal have been linked with a move for Juventus attacker Sebastian Giovinco. Here’s a look at three reasons why Arsenal should sign Giovinco.

1. Versatility in attack

The pint-sized Italian is a versatile player and is able to play multiple roles in attack– he can play as a center forward, behind the main striker in a supporting role or also on the left wing. He is the sort of player who can take on defenders with his smart dribbling, drift out into wide positions to drag defenders out of place, drop deep to get the ball and also play off the shoulder of defenders if required.

His movement will be very important, and the Arsenal midfielders will look forward to him making the runs that will allow them to play through balls in behind the back line. With him dropping deep to get involved in build-up play, it’ll give the midfield runners like Ramsey and Wilshere to make runs into the box, something that has brought lots of goals to Arsenal this season.

2. Ability to create chances and score goals

Apart from the versatility, Giovinco has both created and scored goals during his time at both Juventus and at Parma on loan. In 177 league appearances for Juventus, Empoli and Parma, Giovinco has scored 39 and assisted 41 goals in a little over six seasons. While the record may not be the greatest for an out and outright striker, for a versatile attacker of his ilk, he does possess a decent strike rate of a 0.22 goals/game.

In what was his most prolific season at Parma, Giovinco scored 15 goals and assisted 16 in 2011-12, which resulted in him being recalled to Juventus the following season. Last season, he scored 7 goals and created 46 chances despite averaging only 63 minutes/game. (Stats taken from whoscored and squawka)

3. Short term fix

This season, Giovinco has found it difficult to get regular gametime, and he has made just 13 appearances in all competitions. In his 8 league appearances, he has scored one and created 5 chances, while has one goal and two assists to his name in the cup games. With playing time being at a premium, a move away from Turin may be on the cards.

While Giovinco’s agent has declared his client’s desire to remain at Juventus, an yearning for first team football is too great to let go. The World Cup is coming up in six months’ time, and Giovinco has found himself frozen out of the national setup due to lack of playing time. A loan deal would suit all parties- it would provide Arsenal cover for Walcott without serious investment while it would give Giovinco some much needed playing time. If Giovinco does perform well, it could provide him with an opportunity to reestablish himself at Juventus, or even make the move to Arsenal permanent.