The future of Olivier Giroud remains up in the air as we enter the final days of the transfer window.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a likely arrival from Borussia Dortmund, the issue of playing time ahead of this summer’s World Cup could force the French international to seek a move to get more regular football.
The prospect of him going to Chelsea is one which doesn’t sit well with most Arsenal fans, even if Aubameyang came in, so a move elsewhere – if he had to go – would be preferable.
This afternoon, it’s being reported that the club could seek a fee of around £25m if he were to be sold, with West Ham keen on him and to take advantage of his desire to stay in London.
They could do with the additional firepower as their top scorers – Marko Arnautovic and Andre Ayew – have just 6 each this season, and the 31 year old has been a consistent, reliable goalscorer for the Gunners since his arrival from Montpellier in 2012.
The other option Arsenal have is, of course, to keep him. Aubameyang is ineligible for the Europa League, and as a way into next season’s Champions League, maybe we should consider retaining a player who is experienced and has a great record – particularly coming off the bench to get goals.
We could always cash in in the summer. Anyway, let’s see.
Keep the HFB. We need his goals and variety.
Scenario:
If Dortmund need a replacement for auba in order to sell him to us, and want batshuyai, but Chelski won’t let him go unless they get HFB, what do we do?
Dortmund might be going for Modeste
They should also sign Ciro Immobile. Imagine someone asking them how they’d describe their striking options: Modest. Immobile.
They did already and like you said the experiment was Modest and Immobile.
Has there ever been a player whose name suited the sport less?
I mean, apart from Tom Hundredstone, Chubby Akpom, Fernando Torrid, Demba Bad, and Yaya Sanogoal?
David Bust comes to mind
No ooooo oooo! The thought of his busted leg should never be brought to mind.
Auba wants out, they want him out. They would find someone else and Chelsea can’t afford to gamble. Both of those clubs are in worse striker straights than us by some distance right now.
I’m a bit surprised Chelsea aren’t moving for Aubameyang.
shhh
Exactly. This will be unpopular, but the right answer in that scenario is we sell OG, provided the money’s right (I’d say the Chelsea premium should make it 30m+). I’d prefer to keep Giroud of course, but he’s in his 30’s, clearly not first choice for us (and unlikely to ever be again), so he’s likely to want to go in the summer anyway. We shouldn’t sell for selling’s sake, or just because he’s worried about his WC place. But if Dortmund won’t sell Auba unless they can get someone else in, and if that’s Batshuyai and that means we… Read more »
Selling Giroud to Chelsea is a devil’s bargain. Even assuming you are right about the relative merits of Morata and Giroud, letting Giroud go to Chelsea would lessen our chances of competing in the CL next season. That course of action at once reduces our striking options in the Europa League to Lacazette and Welbeck, and increases the striking potency of a challenger for a top-four position in the Premier League.
The last line is literally correct, but fails to take into account the point that IF selling Chelski Giroud is the only realistic way we get Auba (I have no idea if this is true, but it’s not implausible), then saying no means we miss out on a player who could take our forward line to the next level, all to keep hold of an aging player not considered good enough to start. The Europa thing with Auba is a shame, but Wenger’s likely to start Welbeck ahead of OG in a big European tie anyway. And our top 4… Read more »
It will be the height of stupidty to sell Giroud to CHelsea having sold Alexis to United.
So if the Auba deal hinges on it (not saying it does, but it might), you’d rather keep Giroud and not get Auba?
Chelsea by far the most vulnerable team above us right now. Disharmony from boardroom to dressing room obvious for anyone to see.
But anyway the Europa league is our most important goal for us this season. Got to have best options for it and that includes Giroud. Part on the best terms after his won the game with a goal in the final that so happens to secure his place in the France squad!!
“And our top 4 chances more probably hinge on overtaking Liverpool and Spurs rather than Chelsea.” Selling OG to Chelsea would _ensure_ we had to overtake both Spurs and ‘Pool as opposed to 2 of 3, Spurs, ‘Pool, or Chelsea. It’s strategically a poor move, if it can be at all avoided. Even if selling to Chelsea guaranteed we sealed the move for PEA, it’s a gamble. It’s a complicated decision, one I’m glad not to be accountable for. ***** As an aside, I doubt that it’s on, anyway. The player moves involved don’t make a lot of sense to… Read more »
Yeah, good, thoughtful points. But what if it’s not a matter of selling him to Chelsea “guaranteeing we get PEA,” but rather that selling him to them is *the only realistic way*, at this late point in the window, that we get in PEA??? That’s my question. For me, if that’s the state of play, then all the hand-wringing about the Europa league, strengthening a rival for the top 4 (a rival that are currently 8 points clear, without us getting to play them again, by the way), etc, doesn’t come close to changing the fact that we do the… Read more »
I don’t think it changes what you are asking, but I don’t see the difference in the distinction you are making. Does selling Giroud to Chelsea mean BVB sells PEA to Arsenal, or not? If the one doesn’t follow from the other, but is merely brought into the realm of possibility, then I think your argument is even harder to swallow. I wouldn’t sell him unless it was contingent on the domino-effect of moves that people are taking for granted in this whole rumor that culminates in PEA signing for Arsenal. You and I both have doubts that this is… Read more »
Sorry, not sure I follow your first paragraph, but here’s my attempt at a reply. I admit that if selling Giroud only makes it more likely, rather than guarantees (or all-but-guarantees) PEA, then it’s a much less attractive move, especially to Chelski. So I agree I’d want the Giroud move to *at least* guarantee the PEA move. My point was that, it could be the case that, not only does it guarantee the move, but it’s *also* the only realistic way to make it happen at all at this point. I agree that’s speculative, and kinda doubtful. But that was… Read more »
Ok, so now latest reports are to Chelsea for only FIFTEEN MILLION???!! WTF?? Even I think that’s a TERRIBLE deal.
Hopefully not true.
He’s mediocre & in his 30s , 15 mil is fair to be honest.
I think he’s in the same level as benzema, both of them are too wasteful..But the difference is the way they are treated by the fans of their clubs..that tells you a lot about the fans of this Club (accepting mediocrity instead of demanding improvements).. I think I’m the only gooner who still sees this club as one of the elite European clubs where mediocrity is not tolerated
Wow, even you? Must be a bad deal.
Regardless of what happens at chelski, we should sell Giroud , i dont think h’ll b ok with being a bench warmer, he’ll create tension & uncertainty in the team, get rid of the rotten apple before it spoils the barrel
“Selling Giroud to Chelsea is a devil’s bargain.”
They can have him for Willian.
All well and good but it seems his missus is reluctant on them leaving London, so we could offer him to whoever but he’s contracted and we can’t force him to go before the window closes. I agree with blogs, AW is too loyal to his favourite players and doesn’t always see what’s best for AFC. He’s quick to bench other players, play them out of position or allow them to earn big wages without contributing. As Henry once said, “Giroud won’t win you the Premier League” but PEA cerain would add what we’re desperately missing. FFS Arsenal get the… Read more »
‘kicker’ – the paper who informed us that the fee for PEA is agreed – have just put up an article saying that the original deal involved Giroud going on loan to Dortmund. Apparently Giroud fancies Chelsea, so they have turned to Batshuayayyayayaaaay. However, Chelsea doesn’t fancy Giroud – Conte fancies Llorente instead, from his time at Juventus!
So there you go fellas, just like with the Özil deal, the domino effect to us getting PEA could kick off at Sp*rs.
http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/716158/artikel_giroud-beim-bvb-wieder-im-rennen.html
“Scenario:
If Dortmund need a replacement for auba in order to sell him to us, and want batshuyai, but Chelski won’t let him go unless they get HFB, what do we do?”
Sack Venga
Why sack Wenger? he isn’t the one calling the shots on the transfer.
The way the new team has gone about the business bears scrutiny.
Lets be clear, we were forced to take Mhkitaryan.
Granted Wenger is culpable in risking Alexis into this season (this is a bit of hindsight) but the new negotiating team were not able to get Alexis across the line to City (salary issues granted)
Instead we ended up with United as only option and they dictated the terms.
Says the guy with inside knowledge of negotiating discussions, apparently…
From the outside, it looked a lot like we were more interested in getting a top class player in return for Alexis, rather than just the measly 20m from City (and I’m guessing the initial overtures from United suggested a player+cash deal, but then Raiola got involved and sucked up all that extra cash).
We were not forced to take Mhkitaryan. If Mhkitaryan wasn’t available, the most sensible option would have been to keep Sanchez until June–far from a terrible option B. We had already put our eggs in option B, only for an option A to appear–we took option A. That is by no means being ‘forced’ into anything. Selling Alexis to City might have been a good option, but the Mhkitaryan option beats that by a large margin, considering how we got a player to replace him immediately. In the end, we are both assuming the scenario, but whether you like to… Read more »
Wait, so you have inside knowledge of Raiola’s accounts? I guess all internet opinions need to start with “from the outside”?
I’d sign auba, keep giroud, and give conte a the telephone number of a striker who’s stronger than Giroud, heads better than Giroud, faster and deadlier than Auba in front of goal, scores more than messi and ronnie combined… get conte to call TGSTEL!
Shot the hostage?
We sell them akpom
I agree. Singing, dancing and magic tricks has always been some of his best skills.
And dont forget the hair.
Plus Aubameyang cup tied in europa league.
Doesn’t make sense. Giroud isn’t cup tied last I checked nor say Mahrez for 50m on less from Leicester.
Man, you really love Mahrez, don’t you?
Giroud will make the French squad no matter what. We should keep him, having him with Auba and Laca for this season and even for next can only be good for competition. He also comes up with important goals.
I don’t think Giroud is at all sure of being chosen if he stays on the bench for most matches between now and the World Cup. Deschamps doesn’t care if he plays for a strong club or not (West Ham would be fine, as Newcastle was for others in the past), but he wants him match-sharp.
Most of u are inconsistent as Giroud himself , for many seasons a top goal scorer was the number one demand for all arsenal fans, I mean when giroud was fit he was so wasteful and inconsistent , 2 seasons ago if he scored half of the chances ozil made we wouldn’t consider lacazete or aubameyang..
I really don’t get why you like him so much..is it because of the chant, or is it the occasional acrobatic goals.. Anyway if u think he’s enough for arsenal then I’m afraid that u think we’re a mid table team
He scores important goals that win us points, and he scores beautiful goals that win the Puskas award, and he’s scored over a hundred goals for us, many of them coming off the bench to save games for us. And he loves us, and he fights, and he’s a lot more skillful than people give him credit for. That’s why we love him, and the fact that he’s our HFB.
Yes, he scores goals just not as many as ian, henry, van p.. All of those used to score goals & more importantly they scored goals consistently , goals that won us trophies not just points.. I’m afraid with such tolerance and acceptance to mediocrity we deserve to play in the europa League cause with players like giroud we are a mid table team
He’s not good enough to be Henry, no, but he is a damn good squad option, and has proven to be a reliable goal scorer off the bench–he had that a few years ago too, and that’s what we don’t want to lose. World aint black and white.
I hope we keep him, he scores so many important goals for us and is a completely different option in comparison to Laca and Auba. Especially as Auba won’t play in the Europa (that is still our most important comp this year)
But going to west ham makes a hell of a lot more sense than Chelski.
Plus, I love the HFB. He is one of the few players in the last 5 or so seasons that has genuinely given a fuck.
To say that Giroud is good by comparing him to wellbeck is like saying you would love to eat onions because you wouldn’t eat garbage forgetting that you can order a tasty pizza for an affordable price.
I know I sound silly but I hate it when gooners talk about arsenal like a mid table team with over hyped mediocre players
Giroud is, by far, the best option B striker in the league.
His link up play alone is second to none and he scored time and again key goals over the years, offering different assets to the other strikers.
Chelsea showing interest tells all you need to know about his quality.
Keep him. He’s too good for West ham anyway
Plus, I’m nauseous at the thought of him playing in the same side as that shit stain Arnautovic.
Sell him, he’s mediocre perfect for West Ham
How about we sell you to West Ham instead?
Keep him – he’s a Gunner and we need him not £25m.
More than that we need him as an option up top when we require a physical striker with good hold up play. It’s all well and good having Lacazette and Aubameyang (if we get him) but they’re similar players – neither is a target man.
They’re similar.
Its like having two swords and giving up the battle axe.
You never know when you need a different weapon.
Can’t we sell them Danny Welbeck instead?
Danny’s out of form that’s all. I think he has a lot to offer to our attack, especially when we opt to press a team. I wouldn’t sell him or Giroud – both quality squad players.
Danny’s ‘out of form’? Sorry, no. He’s never been a player who scores goals (deliberately). I would keep Giroud and sell Welbeck, except of course that nobody is interested in Welbeck. There’s a reason why.
How he gets game time at a club like ours is beyond me.
Yeah I say he’s out of form as he’s been pretty shite this season but very impressive in the past. All players go through bad patches and its easy to write them off at that point.
Sure he’s never going to be a prolific or instinctive goal scorer but then there’s much more to his game than that.
But, no one plays a striker because he’s a good defender, “tries hard,” and is a nice guy, if he doesn’t score goals. There is a reason Manchester United sold him. We bought him because we were hard up for an attacker at the end of the transfer window and he was not expensive. Actually, he was relatively cheap for a striker. Because he doesn’t score a lot of goals.
Very impressive in the past? When, exactly, was Danny ever ‘very impressive’?
Nobody is paying good money for Danny. The issue is similar with Debuchy (an older player which if there are performance issues will be hard to move on a high salary. Which is the risk on Mhkitaryan. Similar issue with Elneny. We could move Coquelin (the better player) but the Egyptian is unwanted. You can find someone of his performance level easily for less. At least with Elneny, he shows some signs of performing a good role in a back 3 (plus his long distance passing isn’t too shabby) BUT this is the problem. We are selling off good assets… Read more »
the 2017 FA Cup final, for one.
2015 FA cup quarter final against his old club for two…. but he is our most dispensable forward option
He had a couple of good games with us and England when he started but I don’t remember him for much past the injuries. He’s a nice player and does great work off the ball but not much else…
Such a sad excuse this. Do you know how a striker for a top team who is “not prolific but has much more to his game” looks like? Like Benzema. Who continuously gets booed for not scoring enough and stays in the team for everything else he does. His record is 124 goals in 258 matches. Or Firmino who has 31 in 89 for Liverpool (and 24 assists). When you define Welbeck as that, you are accepting that Arsenal are just not going to be in the bracket of a top team. If you want that, then yeah sure Welbeck… Read more »
He’s a squad player, not a starter unlike your examples.
Of course his level will be lower, as will be any squad players, in any team, anywhere, on the planet.
They’re here to bring occasional value when the starters are rotated/injured, etc.
Midgunner’s right. Also worth noting that he looked quite good at the beginning of the season (e.g. Chelsea away), but then got injured, lost his place in the side (or his status as almost/sometimes-in-the-starting-11), and has been in bad form since.
Obviously he’s not a prolific goalscorer, but he’s a much better player than his performances recently (e.g. Bournemouth) suggest. And that’s good enough for our third choice CF.
He gets game time because he’s a hard worker and sometimes up front that’s what’s sorely lacking. But it’s true that’s not enough.
With Lacca and Auba it’s worth keeping Welbeck. He won’t score that many but he will help make them and most definitely will put a shift in.
Agreed. Danny offers a lot. Except for scoring goals. And as a striker that unfortunately is the most important thing. Theo didn’t offer a lot…but he atleast scored goals.
The way Wenger likes to spread his distribution of goals, the former is more valuable. Given that we have the goals, of course (which is why we shouldn’t sell/loan either Giroud/Welbeck).
I like Welbeck. He works so hard and tries every time. Yeah he’s not a great goal scorer, but I can appreciate a trier and someone who loves playing for us.
I’m a try hard kind of person myself, and I would love to play for Arsenal. Should Arsenal sign me?
Any one else get the feeling that the Walcott bashing pond dwellers will now be turning their attention to welbeck? Our past successes are littered with hard working squad strikers who never scored a hat full of goals. Welbeck is a hard worker, a powerful runner, and can play in a few positions. His finishing is hit and miss and sometimes comical, but he’s a solid squad member and I’m glad we’ve got him.
Hi…um…Danny: I agree that it would be pond-dwelling behavior if it wasn’t at the same time an unfortunate truth about his play (that he’s a forward with a poor touch and poor scoring record), and if the criticism was delivered with abusive or insulting comments about him as a person. Fwiw, I think Welbeck is a fine young man who tries really hard at playing football. I just don’t think he’s good enough to play for a club with ambitions on the top four and winning the Europa League.
Meh. I think Walcott took a lot of criticism for being a striker who scored 100 goals for the club, and I also think Welbeck gets a lot of credit for a striker who is never going to.
If Arsenal can ever move beyond having to replace exiting world-class players by managing to retain their services, then it can focus on showing the exit to those who aren’t world-class. Looking at the squad, and leaving aside the youth-team call-ups, the soon-to-be 4th-choice striker-cum-winger would be in that frame. (Wow, I can’t deny I love a good hyphenate.)
A well-hyphenated comment. Tell me, where do you stand on the following:
Is it:
cross-cum-shot
cross-come-shot
cross cumshot
or cross come shot?
You’ll first have to tell me what a “cumshot” is. Of the other three, only one is plausibly correct because it uses the latin. But the actual correct term is “crot.”
I Googled all four, and the result is I have a new screensaver.
Fine work BTL today, friend.
I believe it’s a “shoss”
Man, this makes the (potential) arrival of Aubameyang so bittersweet. 🙁
Chelsea cannot have the steam off silent stan’s p*$$, so they CANNOT have the HFB.
Everything has a price in kroenkeland. I’ll buy that for a dollar.
Calm down, RoboCop.
I’m pretty sure they already have Stan’s urine steam. Have you ever been to Stamford Bridge?
If he has to go, I would prefer a loan move to west ham for the remainder of the season with an option for them to purchase.
Seeing giroud in a chelsea shirt would make me sick.
Even if the worst happens and he ends up in a chelski shirt, I still wouldn’t hate him.
I feel Olly’s put in a shift for the Arsenal and I won’t hold it against him even if he leaves to a competitor.
That said, I do hope he stays, at least for the rest of this season.
By all means loan him top West Ham. Rather that than Chelsea.
If Oli is sold in this window, it’d mean we’ve seen the last of him in our jersey as he’s been recovering from injury.
Can’t believe we’re shifting so many players this month!
As pointed out by many we definitely aren’t buying Auba to drop him off on the wing. So the might be something Wenger has been planning since it became evident Alexis is leaving (last summer… or before that). So where does that leave Oli? I think our move to 2 up top will be a huge plus for him and also Danny too. Two up front means there is more uncertainty. If Lacazette or Auba come short or even get injured there’s more of a chance for him to get into the team as compared to previously. When we moved… Read more »
2 up top could be good. Pretty sure there are Wenger quotes kicking about saying 442 is the most efficient way to cover space.
We may want a more solid DM though.
Or maybe something of a 4312, with maybe Xhaka, Jack and Mkhitaryan as the 3, Ozil free ahead of them and Oli up top with Aubumeyang or Lacazette.
We could go very gung-ho with Oli and Aubumeyang up top, then Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Lacazette behind.
Even if he stays, Giroud is quite obviously not going to be in our starting 11 on a regular basis any time soon.
Hmm, the truth not very popular around these parts today…
I don’t understand the love for Giroud. He doesn’t even start semi regularly for us. For so long we kept onto to players and lost their value. If someone is offering £35 million for him, you have to seriously consider it when he is the third choice striker. Only at arsenal do we fear selling squad players.
I agree with the value being offered being a good one, but I don’t rate him poorly. He’s the best striker we have available for Europa, if Lacazette cannot play all remaining games of the season (obviously he cannot). Don’t think he’s as far down the pecking order as you suggest.
442 could work. But how about 4222 we have ample midfield options all of a sudden and I think this would suit them if Wenger gets the midfield balance right
While I would hate to see him go, I wouldn’t fault the club for loaning him out. We can all sit here and criticize the club for allowing depth to the leave the squad, but this feels like an entirely different circumstance given the looming World Cup and the amount of respect he has shown the club since he arrived.
Sorry but I couldn’t give a flying fuck about Giroud’s WC dreams and I can’t understand why anyone else does if giving one would mean a pretty shit season for Arsenal gets any shittier.
Pardon my French.
Would obviously rather keep him. But if he is going to go to a PL club, West Ham is the best compromise between his needs and Arsenal’s. He gets to start every week– in fact be his new club’s best player– and stay in London. We sell him to a non-rival and hopefully get a decent fee (25m at an absolute minimum; he may be 31 but as he isn’t reliant on pace he has a few more years left at the top).
DO NOT sell Giroud FFS!!
Keep keep. Chelsea scratching around in the market for exactly his qualities. There’s a reason for that.
If he’s got to go west ham would be my preferred choice – on loan, then he can get to the world cup ok and we can hopefully keep him next season and he won’t be so concerned about regular football then becuase there’s no world cup.
saw the photos from the training ground today and Arsene might have said : ” look Olivier I know you love Alexis’ dogs and so do I, but they’re not coming back here this season …well actually not coming back here next season and the ones after , so perhaps there’s no point for you to stay here and wait …you have a WC coming and look – Ivan told me they keep these big German shepherd dogs at Borussia , believe me you’ll love them ! ‘ 🙂 🙂 I’d love him to stay with the AFC at least… Read more »
Keep him. Funny how he the sentiment has changed so much with hfb. He proved everyone wrong. Great astute signing by monsieur wenger.
If only wenger can prove us all wrong as well.
With PEA in, I’d rather Arsenal sell Welbeck than Giroud. I would prefer Giroud off the bench over the DW. I don’t see what DW brings to the table that PEA, Lacazette, and Giroud don’t possess between them, and they all score goals, which is something DW struggles to do. If Arsenal really are now going to be ruthless with transfers out–see Walcott, Coquelin–then Welbeck’s days at Arsenal must be running out.
Except that no body wants DW.
This would be my favourite scenario: we tell chelsea that they can have HFB if we get aube. So they sell batshuyai to Dortmund and we sign aubemeyang. Then we inform Chelsea, that we have decided to keep Giroud nevertheless, which results in Chelsea’s late deadlineday swoop for Peter Crouch.
I love the HFB too, BUT we’re not the richest club in the world and we’re probably going to have to make Mesut our highest paid player to get him to stay. I think getting Miki and possibly Aub-Bang-in-man shows Mesut that we’re looking to compete. And remember there’s a chance we’re still in for Evans. Gone off track a bit, but what I’m saying is – if getting the Aub and Evans depends on us letting Giroud go then I think its something we have to do.
Can you, or indeed anyone, explain exactly why “we’re still in for Evans” is a good thing? I just don’t see it or get it.
Also, whilst yes we’re not the richest club, we’re also far from being the poorest. We have made a tidy profit for several windows now.
I get the impression that AW has been told he can get whoever he wants AS LONG as the club makes a profit this window. It’s the only reason (outside of plain stupidity) that I can see why we’d even consider selling Giroud.
Why on earth would you get rid of Oli so we could buy evans, who can’t defend and is injured anyway? Evans would be a desperation signing, and I’d rather stick with our youngsters.
I get what youre both saying guys, but Per leaves at the end of the season and how much we can rely on Kos due to his archilles nobody’s quite sure. I agree with wanting Holding and Chambers to turn into a great defensive pairing but they’ll need someone to help them through sometimes. And to be fair there aren’t many top class defenders around much less available so Evans is seen as the next best thing. With regards to money, remember we’ll have to offer Mesut serious money and then there’s Ramsey to sort out who’ll want a significant… Read more »
Dont sell Giroud
Oliver Giroud
I just don’t think you understand
That if you sell Giroud
Oliver Giroud
You’ll have a riot on your hands
What about the scenario of a swap of Giroud in return for David Luiz ? Win – win ?
No thanks. Never been a fan of Sideshow Bob. I’ll never forget how much I laughed when his Brazil side got thrashed by Germany at the 2014 World Cup. There he was, before the match, the very picture of mental fragility, shaking with tears while holding up the shirt of a player with a hurt back. The German players must have looked at each other and thought, ‘yeah, we got this’.
No, no, no, no no no, No, no no no
Giroud is not for sale, not for sale!
Repeat!!
Keep him. We can and we should.
Not to chelski, nor west ham.
Thanks for that, Dr Seuss.
I couldnt give him to Chelski I would be scared shitless he would become the new drogba with their style of play he is way to talented to sell to the chavs
I like Ollie and despise Drogba, but let’s not let sentimentality obscure good sense: on purely footballing merits, OG isn’t fit to lace Drogba’s boots.
Harsh. I think OG is fit to lace Drogba’s boots, and possibly even his shorts. But not his shirt. His big, ruffly pirate shirt.
Bad idea. Just keep him to end of season. Why do we want to get rid of someone who can offer us a different approach to braking down defenses? Its mental. frankly replacing GIroud could wait till the summer. Wenger wants to grab Aubameyang bc of availability but it doesn’t necessarily balance the team out currently. We are more in need of a creative wide player with pace. Mhkitaryan is an aging asset which may recycle into deeper role. Its all very snatch and grab planning at the moment, I’m not entirely impressed with the new buying team. They’ve grabbed… Read more »
Not sure that I buy into all this WC nonsense. Surely having 2 of Frances top strikers playing for the same club & potentially in the same team week in week out counts for something? They supplement each other at Arsenal, which is exactly what they’d be doing for France.
Can’t believe that this nonsense might even be considered. We need to keep Giroud, & if we have to sell him, then do so as part of a deliberate intentional plan in the summer…not. this half bsked on the fly approach we’ve taken this window.
Trying to imagine a world where Marko Anautovic is top in anything other than being an abominable human being.
There will be a big contingent of players with Bundesliga ties if Aubameyang is signed.
Mustafi, Per, Ozil, Mhkitaryan, Granit, Kolasinac.
OTOH, Don’t see why Giroud would want to go to West Ham to pasture.
£25M seems particularly cheap to me.
Keep him I’d say till the summer.
A sale to Chelsea should not even be considered
I love Giroud enough to want the best for him. If Auba is worth breaking our transfer record for, a legend in need of game time isn’t worth being held when we have no game time for him. The team is evolving, we’ve sold 5 1st team players in the last 6 months, 6, if u’re, like me, counting the hopeful migration of Debuchy to other waters before the window closes (Niles and Chambers can cover, we don’t need him). Let’s not hold on to the past and lament that arsenal isn’t moving forward. Laca can take over the Europa… Read more »
Do you drive an Aubameyangobile?
Does anyone think that we could solve our CH quest by swapping Giroud for David Luiz?
Petition to keep Giroud!!!! HFB not TRANSFERABLE!!!
Where do we sign??? 🙂
Although I could leave with a Giroud loan to, say, West Ham but definitely not Chelsea!
Gotta stop strengthening direct opponents!
A loan is fair…. but why arent we signing Moura? We should be for 25 mil
I was thinkin the same when i seen they were interested in him, if he does sign for them i’m going to have to sell him in my FM save
the only reason I would even consider sending OG tp chelski is if kante was involved in the deal… but real life is not like football manager.. Se queda!!
As much as I’ll hate to see HFB leave, it’s now very obvious that the board has decided to blow up the team and rebuild. They are not waiting for the summer to make changes. They’ll make as many changes now and finish the rebuild in the summer. It’s a proactive approach and I hope it works.
It might blow up in their faces. Its not a proactive approach. Buying Mhkitaryan was forced upon us. We could not convince/negotiate a deal with City . United dictated thereafter. If we did not sign Mhkitaryan we did not get to sell Alexis for the price they were offering. Aubameyang is brought in early with an eye cast on Giroud leaving in the summer. But they are not like for like nor have we replaced what we have lost with Alexis leaving in the wide positions. Plus Aubameyang is similar to Lacazette. Remember how the French man was suppose to… Read more »
Well history tells us we’re pretty shit at getting all the work we need done in the summer, so maybe it’s a good approach.
Besiktas wanted Danny Welbeck and they were told he isn’t for sale. Yet people will happily get rid of Oli who offers something unique that none of our other strikers can do, and he loves us and fights for us. I don’t get it. Abameyang had better be fucking good, because it’s just not worth sacrificing our HFB as far as I’m concerned. Danny Welbeck is a very nice lad, but he’s never going to be a top striker, and we will end up keeping him just because he’s english. The only reason we’ll get Aubameyang is because he’s available,… Read more »
Here’s an amazing idea…Keep all three…Auba plays wide…and the way we interchange it’s not usually a problem for a striker to pull wide for a bit…Lacazette is an out and out striker of teh Ian Wright mould but even he finds himself across the front 3 because of how we attack and our movement.
Giroud must remain as an option…Loan him to West Ham worst case scenario…Fuck Chelsea.
Play a record signing out of position?
Nah.
We’re going to do it anyway…
Well, people wanted a DM, you’re getting Auba playing as DM!
Haha, I think we’re the coolest, best but also strangest fans in the world lol. For years we’ve all been screaming about the need to overhaul the team. Now that we look like we’re doing it lots of us are upset. I understand that it feels all a bit random but for the first time in a long time I’m quite excited about it all. Ozil, Miki, Aub, Laca, Wilshere, Ramsey are all top players. People keep saying how are we going to fit them all in? We’re not, but we’ll have a better squad. I know he won’t but… Read more »
Sorry Wezza, Ramsey is not a top player, he slows everything down, takes six touches when one or two will do and gets in everyone’s way when he’s making “them runs” and trying to be a striker. I’d rather get rid of him than Oli or Xhaka. The reason it all feels a bit random is because it is random.
Its not that Ramsey isn’t a top player.
Its that Wenger is playing him in the wrong position. He is trying to make him a box to box but Ramsey’s better instincts are higher up around the box.
Guess who plays there? Ozil.
When Ozil leaves, Ramsey should take the spot but with back up in Mhkitaryan which is what the whole United deal was about.
Its not that we have been proactive or in control at all, but we are salvaging a poor situation with a band aid.
So mhki was forced on us as you claim but here its all part of the post Ozil plan?
It’s all about opinions Vonnie. I agree Ramsey can be infuriating sometimes, mainly when he thinks he’s technically better than he actually is, but at least he offers something. I’m not sure what Xhaka offers. He gives the ball away way to often and doesn’t do his defensive duties. As happy as I’d be if we kept Oli, if he wants to go, for whatever reason, I think we should let him. He’s been good to us but I just can’t see him playing very often at all
Also, we just tend to win more when Aaron plays.
I wouldn’t like to see Oli go especially not to chavski. Back to Frances would be best fine any move.
I’d be happier to see a cm coming in rather than Evans. Kouilbaly of Napoli will Ben for sale in summer he’s then man to get.
I would settle for an Nzonzi. He don’t have anyone like him.
He be perfect foil for 4-3-3 and play jack and Ramsey play either side of him.
Nothing spectacular but solid strong and goodness passer big improvements on coq
Nzonzi is another rubbish buy like (rumour mill) Evans.
We need ot have seriously higher standards.
Poo meter broken Blogs?
15mln for Giroud to Chelsea ffs
Total lunacy.
I mean I’m hoping the fact we have to pay substantially more at 60m for Aubameyang may mean we were reluctant to include Giroud in a swap deal.
In which case its a question of if we are stupid enough to sell him to a rival closer to our top 4 ambitions in Chelsea (having already substantially strengthened United)
Or if Giroud wants to down grade his career to West Ham when in the summer, he may have a host of options still in Seria A or elsewhere to pick from.
Put simply. If Arsenal want or need to Giroud then they must get the best deal for the club which means a) not selling to a direct rival and b) getting the most money from a club who are not a direct rival, preferably abroad. A deal with West Ham for £25m-£30 makes some sense, a deal with Chelsea wouldn’t make sense unless they paid £50m; talk of £15m deal is frankly laughable yet i’m fearful it’s the sort of deal Arsenal might do. My preference would be keep him until the end of the season especially given Auba would… Read more »
That’s the other ridiculous thing. We are buying a player at 60m who is cup tied for the one competition that is most likely to propel us back into CL or we have to sell top (proven) assets to rivals for that 4th spot trophy which guarantees CL. We could easily have gone for a Mahrez which would have given us creativity out wide plus more flexibility (he is left footed but plays right side inverted) And it would have cost us 50m or less. Not cup tied, blooded in league, 26yrs coming into his best seasons. This purchase has… Read more »
We should try and keep Giroud to the summer if options for him (and us) do not look suitable. He is still a superb asset (particularly as Danny Welbeck still flatters to deceive) In which case, if Aubameyang is signed (and to get the best out of BOTH him and Lacazette) we will probably adopt a 3-4-1-2 formation ……………….Aubameyang…………..Lacazette………………… ………………………………..Ozil…………………………………… Monreal……………………………………………………….Bellerin …………………..Granit………………..Jack………………………. …………..Mustafi……………………………..Koscielny…………. ………………………………Elneny…………………………………. ……………………………….Cech………………………………….. But this should also easily morph into a 4-2-3-1 …………………………..Giroud……………………………………… ……Iwobi………………….Ozil…………………….Mhykitarian….. ………………….Granit………………Rambo……………………….. Kolasinac………………………………………………………….AMN …………………….Mustafi………Koscielny……………………….. ……………………………Cech………………………………………. (If Giroud is idiotically sold, I suppose one of Lacazette or Aubameyang up top. Playing either left seems silly as… Read more »
Thankly you are just a fan not an actual manager
Selling Giroud to Chelsea, West Ham or anyone else would be fucking madness and a total disaster!!!
I would genuinely be more upset to see him go than I was seeing Sanchez sign for that wanker at OT.
Giroud is a better striker than Lacazette and is in a different league compared to the journeyman Welbeck.
Just when the our attacking options starts to take shape and have real balance, we look like shooting ourselves in the foot with this possible sale.
WE DON’T NEED THE FUCKING MONEY!! WE’RE LOADED!!!!!
Please Arsene (I know you’re reading this) DON’T DO IT!!!!
I agree but the main issue is that Chelsea seems to be holding the power on whether or not we sign Aubameyang…
If they don’t allow Batshuayi to go to Dortmund, we don’t get Auba. If they require Giroud to do so… we’re in a pickle.
I just hope Dzeko finally signs for them and they forget about Giroud!
Hell, we should pay 5m to Dzeko to make him accept Chelsea’s deal so we all get the players we wanted! 🙂
So Giroud is off to Chelsea.
He got a harsh deal from Wenger.
Once it became known Mrs Giroud did not want to leave London, Giroud got trapped in as Wenger’s “plan B”.
I am glad he can at last break free.
I am so hoping he succeeds in Chelsea.
If only to prove to Wenger he is better than a plan B.
Anyone who thinks we’re selling Giroud to Chelsea for 15 million needs to give their heads a shake.
Oh yeah?
You have no insight in to what Wenger put Giroud through.
I am glad he left.
No way id let giroud go!!
At this moment he’s the only PROVEN goal scorer we’ve got! 100% commited and a loyal servant!
By all means add to the squad but don’t sell him yet
Oh shit this is mental …
https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Who is going to sell jerseys now???????? On the serious side, I disagree fondly with this article. YES seen Oliv’ wearing the Chelsea shirt is not exciting but to compare Giroud’s situation with that of Demba Ba is a disgrace. Giroud looks more like the Cech situation. Sometimes you have to take into account the human side of things… the Russian billionaire sanctioned a move to Arsenal to reward Cech for his contribution to Chelsea. Arsenal before Giroud it is 0 trophies in 9 years. With Giroud we have had 3 FA Cups and a fucking awesome song in the… Read more »
Latest from Ornstein a few minutes ago suggests the deal with Dortmund is far from done! Why does this not surprise me. It appears if Dortmund dont get a replacement lined up before the window shuts here it wont be happening..yikes!
Even if (when) Aubameyang comes it will still feel like we are being shafted if Giroud is allowed to leave. Clearly not to Chelsea and frankly West Ham isn’t good enough for him. We need our super sub!