Anzac wrote:

we're not getting Cavani or Benzema

Rex wrote:

I'd take Higuain. Not my top choice, but I'd take him if we can't get our hands on one of my preferred players. He is better than Giroud, that's for sure.

I'm not sure he would be any better than Giroud. I think they're at a very similar level.

Higuain plays the number 9 role very differently from Giroud, which in my view is a good thing. Feel fairly certain that we would score more as a team with him at point, even if he 'just' matches Giroud's goal output. I'd also much, much rather have a chance fall to Higuain than Giroud in any big game. IMO Higuain is a more clinical goal scorer.

I think they are at a similar level too. Higuain is not better than Giroud in my opinion. However, I would rather sign him than sign no one, although what Wenger has planned for Walcott isn't clear.

There was a lot of unfair end of season criticism of Giroud but the truth is that our best runs in the last two seasons coincided with Giroud's good form. His form drops with physical fatigue. He definitely can't play at a very high level through a season unless he is rotated and rested from time to time. It will help to have another striker of a similar level to compete with Giroud. We can keep both fresh and get the best out of them.

Given that Theo technically got ahead of Giroud just as the season ended and that Wenger has quite categorically stated his future is as a striker, how come he's not involved in any of these discussions?

Walcott can't be relied upon to stay fit. We certainly shouldn't plan next season around Walcott being integral to our plans IMO.

His injury problems are overblown, he played 38, 46 and 43 games in the seasons before his big injury last year. To put that into context, Koscielny has played 34, 46 and 36 in his last 3 season.

Anyway, I'm not suggesting anything other than the fact that he at the very least should be part of the discussion, he finished the season as our first choice and has 7 goals in 7 starts.

We need another worldie in the front 3. Wide or at 9 is of less importance to me actually. Having said that - I don't really want to go into next season with Giroud as first choice.

qs! wrote:

Rex wrote:

I'd take Higuain. Not my top choice, but I'd take him if we can't get our hands on one of my preferred players. He is better than Giroud, that's for sure.

I'm not sure he would be any better than Giroud. I think they're at a very similar level.

Agree. Higuain maybe slightly better but not to the extent that i'd want to pay around 30m quid.

Also don't know how anybody can call Higuain an elite striker. I'm not sure he's even top 10 in the world.

Gonzalo Higuain and teammate Mariano Andujar 'attacked by Napoli thugs' after Lazio defeat - reports
The Arsenal and Chelsea target missed a crucial penalty in Sunday's Champions League decider against Lazio and saw a car he was riding in attacked by thugs....

After the game, the club's players, Benitez and chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis had dinner, as they bid farewell to the Spanish coach.

But after their departure, Higuain reportedly saw his taxi - also said to have contained Higuain's mother and brother, Nico - attacked by a bunch of masked thugs who encircled the car and pelted it with rocks, shattering the windscreen.

The goalkeeper was driving his own vehicle and had the windscreen smashed as well as damage to the bodywork. Neither player was hurt.

These Italian ultras are a little bit mental!

What are the chances of Rafa wanting to take Higuain back to Madrid with him? Put Benzema's nose out of joint.

I'd rather just use Theo tbh and spend the 30m elsewhere.

Rohit wrote:

I think they are at a similar level too. Higuain is not better than Giroud in my opinion. However, I would rather sign him than sign no one, although what Wenger has planned for Walcott isn't clear.

There was a lot of unfair end of season criticism of Giroud but the truth is that our best runs in the last two seasons coincided with Giroud's good form. His form drops with physical fatigue. He definitely can't play at a very high level through a season unless he is rotated and rested from time to time. It will help to have another striker of a similar level to compete with Giroud. We can keep both fresh and get the best out of them.

Yeah I agree with all of that. I'd just rather the club right now were trying to get someone a level above Higuain and Giroud. Failing that then we could go after Higuain if the price is right. I wouldn't be paying more than we offered for him 2 years ago though.

otfgoon wrote:

Given that Theo technically got ahead of Giroud just as the season ended and that Wenger has quite categorically stated his future is as a striker, how come he's not involved in any of these discussions?

Because he's unproven in the centre (still!) and we know he's damn good playing on the right even if we have Giroud, Higuaín or an inanimate carbon rod at centre forward.

Walcott's an excellent back up to the striker but I don't rate his hold up play or being able to deal with two centre backs up behind him. I can see him covering for an injured Benzema (!) for a couple of months but over the course of a season there will be games where he'll be easily dealt with.

Well, the Chelsea back 4 keeps Giroud in check every time without even trying, Aguero makes it work at Man City, so I wouldn't mind having a different type of striker as our first choice. I also don't see this hold up thing as a problem. It means the team has to use different avenues to advance the ball rather than lumping it to Giroud. We saw Walcott v West Brom and in the cup final working the channels in a way Giroud can't do. The end result is the same, in that we get a platform in the final third to build our play from.

Hold up play is only an issue if you're struggling to get the ball to stick in the final third. When we have 3 of Ozil, Santi, Aaron and Jack practically camped in the final third, you don't really need a 4th player at the top to hold it up. You need a player working the channels.

I'd take Benzema but it's for that reason I'm not that keen on him either.

I don't mean hold up play in the way Giroud or Drogba do it, but I do think it's important to have a striker than can play with his back to goal and create space for himself but also those around him. Walcott is brilliant at buying time for himself while Giroud is good at bringing others into play. I think Walcott might be an interesting prospect because his skillset will cause teams to change the way they set up against us but I don't think it would benefit Walcott's form personally. Not saying he'll be bad there, just think he'll reach around the same heights as Giroud.

But what I have in mind is along the lines of what Henry offered us in the 2006 CL run or van Persie before he sold his soul i.e the skill to go from the point of attack to setting up those in better positions in the same move. The way we play will only be multiplied if we have an all-around striker.

It's the players who can do it all that are the ones we're struggling to find though. The rest are just players who specialise in a certain aspect of the game.

Take Benzema for example, this is a guy who's managed just 15 league goals as first choice for a team that's scored 118. That's not to put a downer on him, it's just highlighting that it's rare to find a striker that ticks all the boxes.

Rex wrote:

Higuain plays the number 9 role very differently from Giroud, which in my view is a good thing.

They have the same underlying problem though. They can't create space for themselves.