Giroud and four others must be the fall guys for Arsenal

Great players, average players and bad players…we’ve seen them all at Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger is known for buying the hidden gem every now and then, but he got some decisions wrong as well, most recently Sebastian Squillaci.

But enough with that, what about players who were once thought to be part of the boss’ plans for the present and future?

The likes of Lukas Podolski, Philippe Senderos, Joel Campbell, Jon Toral, Yaya Sanogo and before that Ignasi Miquel and Nicklas Bendtner. All those players were given chances by Arsene Wenger, but were then sent on loan or sold by the club due to the strong competition for places and Arsenal’s better financial situation.

If I were to select current players who could be the next fall out, who could it be?

I can name a few really. Most who are now seniors rather than youngsters, though.

Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud.

Even though Francis Coquelin has been pretty impressive, Arsenal are still desperately in need of a strong disciplined defensive midfielder who can dictate play and protect the back four. Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta can be good squad players, but nothing more than that.

Olivier Giroud on the other hand is a very important player for Arsenal; he has a strong physical presence and can hold up the ball well, but a team who wants to compete for the Barclays Premier League and try to win the Champions League cannot have Olivier as a regular starter. He has worked very hard and has improved immensely, but is far off from being a world class type. Same with Coquelin and Arteta, Giroud can be a great squad player but definitely not a regular starter.

Arsenal’s financial situation has been improving year after year starting with the signing of Mesut Ozil and then the signing of Alexis Sanchez and others. Arsene Wenger can now not only give players the chance to shine but as well buy better ones if they don’t show the qualities needed to play for Arsenal.

In the past, Wenger only had one option. Buy a player and if he fails to shine, keep playing him until you have enough money to sell and buy another. This time things have changed, and with the money available Arsenal will no longer be patient with players who aren’t good enough. Competition will be fierce and if they don’t show their worth they will be sold.

Finally, the player who I believe will soon be a fall out is Per Mertesacker. The BFG is having an up and down season and he doesn’t seem to have the same desire. With Gabriel, Koscielny, Chambers and maybe a fourth centre-back fighting for places, Mertesacker’s stay in the starting XI may not be guaranteed next season.

Who do you think will be the fall out from our squad? Leave your comments below.