Olivier Giroud is enjoying his football this season, you can see it in the way he goes about himself. The Frenchman was written off before he had even kicked a ball this term but his form in pre season excited some, and rightly so. Now 12 games into the Premier League campaign, Giroud has scored seven goals, claimed four assists, and made another 13 key passes on top of that. He has also scored twice in the Champions League and created two chances, but all this playing time could prove costly later in the season.
He has been Arsene Wenger’s only viable option up top so far with Nicklas Bendtner reluctantly thrown into the mix when Giroud’s legs are tired. Now, with Theo Walcott returning from injury, this is the perfect weekend to give Giroud some time to rest his body.
Walcott’s speed would have a massive impact against a sluggish-looking Cardiff backline and could see the England international gain some morale and more importantly some momentum out of the occasion should he start.
Or, if Wenger is feeling lucky, maybe the trip to south Wales could be a do-or-die moment for Bendtner – perform and he stays in and around the first team squads before he’s flogged in the new year, but fail and he’s firmly in the reserves.
Either way, I think this weekend is the perfect time to rest Olivier Giroud.