Arsenal have seen Oliver Giroud start the season on a high, scoring 4 goals in 6 appearances in the league and creating 10 goal scoring chances. Also he netted a goal in two appearances in the Champions League. He looked excellent as he used to delicately chip the ball, flick it and hold up play to bring others into the play and act as a perfect target man.
With half of the season gone Giroud has only net in 7 goals in the league and created 22 chances in his 17 appearances. He has missed sitters and has struggled to make an impact on the game. In the UCL too in 6 appearances, Giroud was just able to score 2 goals and create 2 goal scoring chances. He has a shot accuracy of just 42%, which is unacceptable for the first choice striker of a team like Arsenal which is pushing for the league.
Recent performances by Giroud have been dismayal as the striker missed sitters and failed to deliver the goods which were required. He has had a passing percent rate of only 66%. On the other hand we have a certain self proclaimed “Best Striker of the World” Nicklas Bendtner who has actually performed not that bad at all this season. He has been working hard to mend his image and make some impact on the pitch which he has done at times. He has had a pass success rate of 80%, much higher than that of Giroud’s. He has appeared as a substitute all the times except starting the game against Hull City where he managed to net in his solitary goal of the campaign in the second minute. He also came very close to scoring and assisting against Hull City yesterday.
For a striker who his forced to play only 10 minutes max as a substitute in the EPL fixtures, Nicklas Bendtner performs above expectations. He is seen moving a lot on the pitch, running in areas where he doesnt belong to win the ball back and aid his team in defence and all. If given the chance to start again Bendtner may perform well as he did against Hull City and probably score goals, something with Giroud has been unable to do in recent times.
Seeing Giroud’s current form, Nicklas Bendtner does deserve his chance back in the starting eleven for Arsenal once again. Who knows, he may surprise everyone yet again, this time with his football.