no, he doesn't. as prince says, we look horrible with podolski as CF. and i say that as one of the few people who likes and have liked podolski all year. he drops very deep - which is fine, as that is how he plays - but that leaves us with nothing up front. it may be functional if walcott was wide right to make the run but he isn't which means we have zero movement or threat in the box. at all.
I think Olivier Giroud can be frustrating, but he is our leading goal scorer by a mile. Around 20 in all competitions; 2X Podolski. He is up there with the leaders in league scoring too. Not quite at Suarez' pace (but to my knowledge he never bit anyone either...). We could certainly use a world class striker, but giroud is pretty good, and there are only a few having way better seasons.
you mean . . . a striker who was doesn't get service doesn't do anything? serious?! INCONCEIVABLE! just podolski, giroud brings a lot to the table - attacking and winning the first ball, providing link up to oncoming midfielders - that makes our current offense work. as much as i like podolski, he cannot provide that to the offense. when he is in as CF, we have a lack of presence in the box.
Stats do not tell the whole story. How many chances has he wasted? Any good striker could have scored +35 with the amount of chances he got this season.
That is what I have said all season long. He is not world class but he is a solid cf and a 20 goal striker. I am ok with him but an upgrade would be nice.
since Ramsey got injured, the chance creation has dipped. We can do better than Giroud by a lot, but the answer is not Podolski. I am not disagreeing. The answer is not Podolski, thats all.
This team with its key players and a CF like Griezman can challenge on all fronts. It's just that AW can't play the same type of game with the scrubs and didn't change when the injuries hit
I think KK was halfhartedly warming up on the sideline. Also, Wenger just admitted this week that he overplayed Giroud. He managed to take Ozil off early, but Ramsey is still only a few weeks out from injury, and he played almost 120 minutes in the cup. It's mind boggling that he doesn't see the connection.
I'll save my nitpicking for some other time. We're winning 3-0 and taking a big step closer to nailing down 4th place, and getting our swagger back in time for the FA Cup final.