Despite an impressive record this season coming off the bench, Olivier Giroud still hasn’t fully regained the trust of Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, with Alexis Sanchez spending most of the season up top.
While the Chilean experiment has worked rather well, the Gunners are currently sixth in the Premier League, and on course to finish in their worst position since their French manager took over in 1996.
Players like Danny Welbeck and Lucas Pérez have been tried as alternatives for Olivier Giroud, to no avail, and a new striker (again) will be needed at some point in the near future.
According to one of Valère Germain’s former mentors, Frédéric Iago, the Monaco forward should be that man.
He told Ouest-France: “As of today, he’s lacking maybe one big Champions League game, but he could also play regularly in a team like Arsenal. He’s clever, humble, and always ahead of others. He could handle himself in the English league, and despite his small size and physique, he’s good at heading. Furthermore, he sacrifices himself for the team”.
One man who has benefitted hugely from Germain’s selflessness this season has been Radamel Falcao, with the Colombian scoring most of the goals while the French forward distracts the opposition.
That doesn’t mean the 26-year-old cannot find the back of the net either, with 13 goals to his name this season in 46 appearances.
For that to work, however, he needs to play in a formation that plays two up top, which isn’t the case at the Emirates.
Who knows, maybe Arsenal’s next manager will try and implement that system? Leonardo Jardim, perhaps?
