Arsenal have been linked with every big name striker going this summer. From the ridiculous to the possible, Aubameyang, Ibrahimovic, Lewandowski, Lacazette and Dzeko have all been tipped to steal the lone forward role from Giroud. This hasn't been helped by Lord Harris' comments saying Arsenal can buy any player they wish. However, if recent reports are to be believed it is a deal for Real Madrid man, Karim Benzema, which is most likely.
How does Benzema compare to our current strike force and the others who we've been linked with? In Giroud the club have a powerful striker who can win the ball in the air and effectively hold it up, but lacks the finishing and pace of someone truly world class. This is where most Arsenal fans feel the team is lacking and where a top quality signing can push us over the edge.
The comparison below looks at Giroud, Benzema, Aubameyang, Lewandowski and Welbeck. The two Bundesliga players are included due to strong rumours linking Arsenal with both – although it would be a big surprise to see the Bayern Munich star leave after one season.
Style of Play
The first thing that is obvious from the comparison is the difference in the style of play. Giroud wins close to five headers a game, whilst Benzema wins less than one. However, this is more down to the tactics of Arsenal and Real Madrid than anything else. The two Frenchmen had an almost identical win rate when it came to aerial duels, beating the current and former Dortmund men comfortably.
Where Benzema trumps Giroud is his ability to run with the ball. On average last season, Giroud made a successful take on once every three games, whereas Benzema was making at least one a game. Again the club's style of play is a factor but the truth is with nearly a 20% better success rate, Benzema is just better with the ball at his feet than Giroud. In fact across all five strikers, Giroud is the only one who has a dribbling success rate below 50%.
Recent History
Many fans and pundits saw last season as Giroud’s best with Arsenal, and this is no surprise given he scored 0.68 goals per 90 minutes played. This is better than all four other strikers. Particularly impressive given Lewandowski was the main striker as Bayern Munich ran away with the league title. However, towards the end of last season he seemed to fizzle out and missed a host of chances against Swansea and Sunderland, raising questions if he can maintain that form for a full season. So how does his record over the last three seasons compare? Well the graph below paints an interesting picture:
Since Giroud joined Arsenal in 2012, his goals per game ratio has increased year-on-year. Being surrounded by better players every season is probably one of the reasons, but he has been improving and playing a more important role in the side. Over the same period Benzema has remained a constant threat always scoring an average of above a goal every other game. Lewandowski’s curve is interesting - the Polish international’s goals per 90 minutes has fallen for successive seasons since leading Dortmund to the Champions League final, but still remains above an impressive 0.60 goals per 90.
It is interesting to see that even in Giroud’s most successful season at Arsenal, he only hit the target with 50% of his shots in the Premier League. That is poor and, given he had a similar goals per shots on target ratio last season to Benzema (both a high 0.4), the difference in accuracy can equate to an extra goal and a half over a whole injury free season.
The new season
Giroud’s stats do paint a good picture for him, but his shyness in the big games frustrates Arsenal fans. When he’s good he can be unplayable, but with his lack of pace and consistency the fans are never going to be fully satisfied. Should he be sold? Not a chance. He’s still a valuable squad player and second striker. Even in that role he could feature in upwards of 25 games a season.
The truth is that Benzema’s pacy play and ability to run beyond the defences is a mouth-watering prospect for Arsenal fans, especially when his former team-mate and still friend Mesut Ozil is available to make those through passes. The first choice France striker has a consistent goal tally over a sustained period, has played at the highest of levels and delivered when it matters. Lewandowski seems an unrealistic prospect, but all indicators suggest the Benzema deal could happen, and what a deal that would be for Arsene Wenger. If he could pull this off he would have consistently delivered world class talent to the Emirates and spent the summer improving the club’s weakest positions. A title challenge won’t be a dream, it’d be a reality.