Three things learnt as Arsenal returned to winning ways against West Ham

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Giroud the man to solve Arsenal’s problems

For someone with the statistics of Olivier Giroud this season, it still seems astonishing that he hasn’t been given more opportunities in the starting line-up from Arsene Wenger this season.

Coming on as a substitute for the 14^th time this season (66.7% of his appearances have come from the bench), he put the icing on the cake as his superb curling effort from a wide angle secured an important three points for Arsenal and showed yet again the quality he possesses in the penalty area.

The tall Frenchman’s tally now stands at nine for the season in just 804 minutes of Premier League football, averaging a goal every 89.33 minutes – a better rate than Chilean Alexis Sanchez.

The fact that Giroud has only made seven starts this season seems slightly absurd; is it that Wenger has a lack of faith in his striker? Or does he see him as a ‘finisher’ in games, able to impact more late on?

Either way, you can’t deny that Giroud knows how to find the back of the net when he’s on the pitch, and with Arsenal locked in a battle for Champions League football he’s surely worth a shot.