3. Giroud Needs Service from Wide Areas
One of the reasons I like Giroud so much is that he provides an effective plan B: he is strong in the air and has the ability to find wide players running in behind him with a deft flick. In fact, when it became evident that Norwich would pack it in and play defensively, I hoped that Arsenal would stretch the game out and put the ball in the box accurately. No such luck I am afraid. The problem with having a player like Giroud is that without service, he cuts an isolated figure. The Norwich defensive plan wisely centered on limiting space in the middle and shutting down Cazorla, Arsenals creative hub. My first point was that part of the way Arsenal can counter that strategy is by bringing a second creative hub and long strike threat up from the midfield. The second is that Arsenal needs width, particularly from the right - as currently lined up, when crossing from the right Arsenal should have Giroud in the box and Podolski lurking at the far post, two great targets to latch on to the end of a well placed cross. This may not be Arsenals style of play, but stretching the game, or getting an early cross into the box needs to be in the toolkit to unlock some of these stubborn defenses. The Arsenal full backs need to be able to provide quality and consistent service to the middle. In the teams defence, I must point out that Andre Santos is not Gibbs. Santos is a competent back up and I think he adds value to the team in this capacity but how many times did Santos stretch Norwich? Never, because he likes to cut inside, as does Podolski and Giroud is already in the box. Gibbs offers a different dimension to the attack, whereby Santos essentially plays as a deep lying left winger, and getting Gibbs and Giroud on the pitch together for extended period of time should help to solve this problem as the players get to know each other.