I’m rather surprised the imminent lack of Olivier Giroud for Arsenal over the next three to four games hasn’t incited more anger. The fact he’s Arsenal’s only true centre-forward would normally be an excellent topic for complaint. Presumably he isn’t well regarded enough for it to be an issue. Which is a shame.

The more pressing concern is who replaces him through the middle of Arsenal’s attack. By my reckoning, five players have played that position for Arsenal this season.

Those players are Theo Walcott (arguably had his chance), Gervinho (likewise, also prone to horrendous losses of confidence after miscontrolling a football), Giroud (see above), Marouane Chamakh (currently playing second fiddle to Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole at West Ham) and finally, and the least often, Lukas Podolski.

Difficulty

Which brings me to the topic of this piece. Lukas hasn’t had the easiest season at Arsenal. A lingering injury has restricted his playing time, and at times he seems a little like a square peg in a round hole. Sometimes.

He’s been linked away from Arsenal a few times, especially during his recent spell on the sidelines. All kinds of stuff came out about rifts with Arsene Wenger, and moves to Juventus and back to Germany were mooted. Ultimately Arsene had to come out and point out:

“Look how he played when he came on!

“As soon as you have a player who doesn’t play for three games, the papers get a story like that. But he looks very happy to be here.”

And I think he is. The issue Lukas has, and the thing that leads me to question whether he can play as a centre forward, is his skill set.

Old-school

When Podolski rose to prominence, the formation of choice was 4-4-2, and he thrived in the secondary striker position, similar to Wayne Rooney. His best abilities are his finishing and crossing ability, as well as his bursts of explosive power that allow him to go past his man.

But nowadays, almost every major side in Europe plays a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, and he slots in on the left side of attack. His pace and finishing help him a lot here, but he’s had to compete with Theo Walcott for that position, as Santi Cazorla is usually favoured as the other winger, to provide a more creative edge.

It’s commonly accepted that to play the ‘complete forward’ number 9 role in a single-striker system, a player needs at least one of these three attributes: Strength, pace and movement. Podolski is stronger than some, less so than others. He’s got an impressive burst of pace but can’t sustain it, and compared to the likes of Sergio Aguero (for example) he can’t stand up. His movement is notably lacking.

He’s played through the middle for Arsenal twice. Once on the opening day, with little effect (though this can be put down to being unfit), and again in THAT game against Bradford.

What was noticeable in both these games was how cluttered Arsenal’s attack was. He seems to lack the movement and eye for a run behind the defence that Giroud and Walcott (to an extent) have, though he’s a better finisher than both. His lack of movement led to the rest of Arsenal’s front 3 moving inside and getting in each other’s way.

I’d be inclined to say that Podolski’s skill set is excellent for the largely unused role of second striker, and for the wide-forward role he plays for Germany (and Arsenal), but not necessarily for the all-encompassing centre-forward position defined by the likes of Robin Van Persie.

Progress

What I’ve said sounds pretty damning, but there’s hope for him yet. Arsene Wenger has admitted he ‘works with him on central striker a lot’ (perhaps in anticipation of such a situation), and good players can normally do a job at a similar-if-different position when required.

What he does have the other potential options is a physical presence. At 6”1, and not being lightly built, he’d certainly pose an issue to opposing centre-backs.

What I fear he’d struggle to deal with is hold-up play and having to cope with two players on his back, as opposed to a single full-back (and a possible backtracking winger). But if he’s been working on it as Wenger says, there’s nothing to say he can’t get used to it.

So, can Lukas Podolski play as a centre-forward? I’d say yes, though I’ve got doubts about his effectiveness. Finishing ability is one thing, with an all-round game another very large portion he’d need to improve.

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Comments  

#14 melvin 2013-05-01 13:53
Giroud is lethal when it comes to air balls..and podolski is good when it comes to finishing on one on one terms..
#13 sola Ogunlana 2013-04-24 16:14
Wenger has been prejudice to Podoski in choosing Giroud ahead of him, He has more pace and recovery ability than Giroud than is flabby with poor recovery rate.
#12 Chinedu 2013-04-24 12:21
Podolski will deliver if arsenal don't play clumsily upfront. Wenger must play cartzola at his natural positon.
-1 #11 noel conway 2013-04-24 01:40
I agree with you guys. Our attack is much too slow and nearly always breaks down on the edge of the oppositions box. Its more of a siege than an attack. What ever their short comings AV has to sort it out. He signed them so he has to make them work
#10 M 2013-04-23 20:47
Yes he can. Give him 90 minute of play. He's better at central forward. Look at his previous club record. Where did he score most goal. At CF position.
#9 nic 2013-04-23 12:26
His hold up play is my main worry,Giroud does it perfectly sometimes.his finishing can be lethal though.
#8 Wolfgang 888 2013-04-23 01:39
The battle for the cl is ,imho,going to the last game. The worst scenario is both Chelsea and Spurs meet in the penultimate game. Assuming both need a point to cement cl status,I won't be surprised if both play for a draw.
That means the gunners need to win all the remaining games.It is not mission impossible if the gunners reduce the number of passes and speed up the attack.
There is no margin for error. If Wenger cna't deliver the cl spot,he would leave on his own.
#7 Wolfgang 2013-04-23 00:21
So red face has won the epl . Let him be the king/god of English football like Celtic in Scotland.His ambition is to dominate in the cl.
Fotunately the cl has other teams witha bout the same
finacial mightas the rf and are able to pose a credibel challenge.
As for Arsenal,if they don't get cl soccer,I believe,Wenger will in all probability leave on his own.Of course this is not a given.
To add credence his cl craving,Wenger has to beat MU. A loss could prove fatal
if both Spurs and Chelsea winbefore the gunners have played.
As said the gunners speed of attack is too ponderous and cumbersome with too many passes. All neutral fans are agreed on this except the fm. No point dominating if you can's score and win.
#6 Eric 2013-04-22 21:48
Completely agree about the lack of movement. Giroud, for all flack he receives, actually has good movement in the box. RVP is a master at moving in the box. Podolski just doesn't seem to have the 6th sense for movement as a lone striker. It's too bad you can't combine his finishing and explosion with Giroud's movement and effort, or else you would have one of the best strikers in the world.
#5 sizzu 2013-04-22 21:09
Am ok with him is better than giroud so let's try him for the next 2 to zr games
+1 #4 DAS 2013-04-22 21:08
you are correct Pods movement isn't great, and he is a little of a square hole. But Giroud is not technically very profficient, he's slow and he has horrible composure infront of goal. Podolski on the other hand has great technique, pace, can create something out of nothing and can score from anywhere, why not give him a centre forward chance? The ref did us a favour sending Giroud off, he's not good enough...atall. Podolski is ten times the technical footballer Giroud is. Pod has the same number of goals as him near enough from the wing, with less games.
#3 steve 2013-04-22 20:44
That's his biggest problem, his lack of movement.
+1 #2 ibby 2013-04-22 20:32
He is definitely suit better than Theo for me.
+1 #1 Debesay 2013-04-22 19:42
Podolskis lack of movement spot on.