Arsenal are relying too heavily on Olivier Giroud

It is fairly safe to say that Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud is not exactly the most well-liked player in the Barclays Premier League.  Some of the Frenchman’s criticism is justified (he does miss his fair chances in front of goal), some is not (Giroud has been labeled a “donkey” by many); however, when looking into the statistics, the striker certainly holds his own against other players in his position that cost three times the reported £9.6 million fee that the Gunners paid for the French international.

While the investment in Giroud was undeniably worth it, the Arsenal front man is a streaky player. This, however, is nothing new when discussing center forwards.  Nevertheless, because of the fact that the three other players Arsenal would normally also rely on to score goals have either been injured or are underperforming, the Gunners are putting all of their eggs in the Giroud basket at the moment.

From September 26 to December 21, a run of 11 Premier League matches, Giroud netted eight goals.  During these 11 league games, Arsenal went on to record a defeat just once (a 2-1 loss to West Brom in November).  Fast forward to the 29-year-old center forward’s last seven league appearances and Giroud has only managed to score in only one of these games (a brace against Liverpool).  Arsenal have picked up just two victories in these seven league matches.

One of the players in which Arsenal need to score goals to be successful is superstar Alexis Sanchez.  The Chilean is just now beginning to get acclimated to being on the pitch after missing nearly two months due to a hamstring injury.  In his three matches since returning from the injury, Alexis has scored one goal and added an assist (both in the FA Cup competition).  Alexis will contribute in Arsenal’s goalscoring efforts when he is on the pitch, it’s what he does.  The forward was absolutely electric from the moment he first stepped onto the pitch last month for the first time in eight weeks.

Danny Welbeck is another player that Arsenal desperately need fit.  The England intentional has not featured once during the current campaign due to a knee problem.  Manager Arsene Wenger has, however, assured Arsenal fans that Welbeck will be returning to the pitch soon.  Speaking ahead of the club’s 0-0 draw against Southampton, Wenger said: “Danny has not played since April 2015 and will have to go through a game or two with the under-21s, where we can monitor him and leave him free to play at his level of commitment.  That looks to be very soon, maybe this week.”

SEE MORE: Arsenal are getting big return on investment with Olivier Giroud.

With Sanchez getting back to full strength and Welbeck on the way to making his return,  Giroud should soon have a heavy weight removed from his shoulders.  However, Theo Walcott is a player that should be helping with a portion of this weight.  The speedster forward has only scored one goal since September for the Gunners (a string of 17 matches in which he has featured).  Walcott did miss six games earlier in the season, but the north London side have noticeably struggled with Walcott on the pitch as of late.

Giroud is without a doubt an important player in this Arsenal team; however, he needs help from his fellow teammates.  The Frenchman is a capable, solid Premier League striker, but is not on the same level as a Sergio Agüero, Robert Lewandowski, or Luis Suarez.  Alexis will contribute in front of goal, that’s for certain.  However, the odds of the Gunners fighting back to the top of the table again this season would surely increase if the club was to get more goals out of players such as Walcott and Welbeck.