Arsenal striker dilemma: Who should Arsene Wenger start between Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud based on their stats?
Walcott and Giroud have been in and out of the Arsenal starting line-up so far this season, but who has performed better?
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Your support makes all the difference.Olivier Giroud has declared they he is ready to pick up the baton and lead Arsenal’s attack should Theo Walcott grow tired or manager Arsene Wenger decide to rotate his striker, but the stats show that Giroud is in better form than Walcott so far this season.
Walcott has played eight times in the Premier League, with six of those coming as a starter and the first two of the season seeing him replace Francis Coquelin and Giroud respectively. It gives Walcott a total of 500 minutes played, having been substituted in five of his six starts, and the England international has a return of two goals which came against Stoke and Leicester.
However, despite playing 51 minutes less than Walcott and making seven substitute appearances with just three starts, Giroud has notched five goals in the Premier League. He scored on his return to the starting line-up in the 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday, while he has also added goals against Crystal Palace, Stoke, Leicester and Watford this season.
So what about beyond the Premier League?
Walcott has more goals than the France international, but his two goals have come in 190 minutes while Giroud’s lone strike has been found within his 56 minutes of European action.
They share an 80% shot accuracy in Europe, although Walcott’s 60% is minimally higher in the Premier League than Giroud’s 58%.
Walcott has also proven to be more productive having laid on three assists in all competitions compared to Giroud’s record which sees him yet to lay on a goal for a team-mate.
Here’s how they shape up head-to-head:
| Theo Walcott – PL | Theo Walcott – CL | Olivier Giroud – PL | Olivier Giroud - CL | |
| Goals scored | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Assists | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total shots | 26 | 11 | 29 | 6 |
| Shot accuracy | 60% | 80% | 58% | 80% |
With a Capital One Cup fourth round clash with Sheffield Wednesday up next for Arsenal, could Wenger look to try and deploy both of them to try and cash in on Walcott’s creativity and Giroud’s current streak in front of goal?
The likely option appeared to be that Giroud would start the match having played less minutes this season and with the only other striker in the squad, Danny Welbeck, still injured until January 2016. However, Walcott’s demotion to the bench last time out could now suggest that it will be the pace merchant who takes on the Championship side on Tuesday.
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