I am not sure what will convince Wenger to wake up and realize that neither Giroud nor Walcott is the FINISHER they need, to give Arsenal ultimate glory. Not the FA Cup, but the trophies that matter; the Premiership or the Champions League. To win those, you need a great team, but you have to have a superb attacker, who lives and breathes off getting G's.
To be fair, Wenger has come out and said there are no quality strikers out there to purchase. Which is true, based on how the game has changed to be more midfield-centric. That still does not negate the fact that relying upon Giroud, who is a secondary striker, and Theo, someone learning the position, won't help Arsenal achieve their goal.
When you look at Arsenal's successes in the past, they have had two of the best finishers that the Premier League has ever had. First it was Anelka, who could have gone on to greater things had he remained with Arsenal longer. He was central to them winning the double because he was a striker who could finish from any angle, and could rely upon him in a one-on-one situation. These sharpshooting traits cannot be seen in Giroud or Walcott. Olivier may be a natural striker, but he lacks the sharpness, and shooting accuracy that Anelka had. Walcott on the other hand just doesn't have the natural ability in that position that was second-nature to Anelka.
What can be said about Thierry Henry? Nothing that we don't already know.
This all means that Arsenal will struggle. They have enough talent to still finish top four and maybe win a cup, but surely the fans, the players and even Wenger himself must want more. Surely, they would have seen their past and would want to at the very least match up to has come before. The only that can be done is having the right players. It has become far more difficult to compete with the best because of how much money the game is generating and the very small circle of clubs that attract the best of the best. Wenger's philosophy of trying to develop his own players just won't fly. It's a noble way of going about things, and I do applaud him for that, but there needs to be far greater emphasis on getting a lethal and potent finisher. As history has shown, Arsenal's success has come from having these quality frontmen. I even forgot to mention Ian Wright, who was a great goalscorer for Arsenal in his time, and who again was instrumental in their success. You just can't win titles with only midfielders. The only team that can do that is Barcelona, because their attacking midfielder is one of the best players in the world. Arsenal do not have that kind of player.
Beating up on Giroud won't help Arsenal fans move forward. It's common knowledge that he's not in the same class as Wright, Henry or Anelka. That is not to say he is useless, because he his goal consistency in the league has been very good. He is the perfect complimentary forward to the star striker who you pin your hopes on for goals. Same goes for Walcott, who has a lot more movement. I don't think he will ever develop into a great striker, but he is someone who can work will with a partner or....as some have mentioned, why doesn't Wenger play the both of them so that they can try and cultivate an understanding and develop into a strike partnership?
The Arsenal story is getting real boring, real fast...
